


Just Five Days

by Kivea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cliche, Escort Lance (Voltron), F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humour, Humor, M/M, more tags to come probably, romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-01-20 23:11:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12443925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: 'You want me to what?'He was convinced she'd lost her mind. It had finally happened. Katie "Pidge" Holt had gone certifiably insane. If anything it was impressive that it had only taken eighteen years before it happened, but silver linings and all that.'I want you to be like my date for a family thing I have to do,' she repeated. 'Matt has a date now, and the way mum asked kind of implied she was expecting me to bring someone along.''So I'd be your plus one?''Yeah, but not like a friendship plus one. Like an actual date. Like, hey mum this is my new boyfriend Keith kind of plus one.'





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> I was just like hey you know what I need a really fucking cliched romcom type Katt fic 
> 
> And I'll take any excuse to elbow in some Plance so here we are.

'You want me to what?'  

He was convinced she'd lost her mind. It had finally happened. Katie "Pidge" Holt had gone certifiably insane. If anything it was impressive that it had only taken eighteen years before it happened, but silver linings and all that.  

It was a pretty straight forward yes or no question. Well, no, that wasn't entirely truthful. He could respond with yes or no, but the way that she asked implied it was more a demand than an option he could take. They'd known each other for about two years and in all that time he could count the times he'd seen real desperation on her face on one hand. It was probably what made him hesitate in flat out denying her.  

'I want you to be like my date for a family thing I have to do,' she repeated. 'Matt has a date now, and the way mum asked kind of implied she was expecting me to bring someone along.'  

'So I'd be your plus one?'  

'Yeah, but not like a friendship plus one. Like an actual date. Like, hey mum this is my new boyfriend Keith kind of plus one.'  

He sucked in a deep breath at that and narrowed his eyes. 'I'm flattered but I'm also very gay.'  

'It's called  _lying_ , Keith, I thought you were a practiced hand at that.'  

'I take offense to that. Also, you're asking me to fake-date you for a family event which I'm assuming is that wedding you've been talking about for like two months.'  

She grimaced. 'Yeah, that's the one.'  

'I also know,' he pressed a finger onto the table between them for emphasis. 'That you are going for a whole week. Are you wanting me to go with you and be your fake-date for seven days solid?'  

'I hadn't really thought about the details to be honest. We could negotiate.'  

It was utter madness. It was the kind of dumb cliché that he'd seen in awful movies, and it  _never_ turned out well. She continued to stare at him with that almost deranged look in her eyes and hair that was mused from being pulled at one too many times.  

'Before I shoot you down,' he started slowly. 'Do you want to explain why you think you need a fake-date?'  

She groaned as her head hit the table. 'Because  _Matt_ has a date, and mum expects me to take someone, and you know how much I hate dating.'  

'You do hate dating.'  

'I have more important things to be focusing on than boys! Like science!'  

'Science does take up a lot of your time.'  

She buried her hands in her hair once again. 'I don't want to go through the trouble of dating someone just to take them to some family thing and then ditch them after. But if I took a friend and just  _said_  we were dating I wouldn't have that problem!'  

He wished she wasn't so good at reasoning this shit out. 'I see your point.'  

'So will you?'  

'I think it's an awful idea.'  

'I went through everyone in my mind,' she assured. 'I've already spoken about you to my parents, because you're like one of the few people I can stand to be around for prolonged periods of time, and you're easy on the eyes so it won't be difficult to pretend to think you're attractive in personality too.'  

'What's that supposed to mean?!'  

'And like you said, you're very gay, so I won't need to worry about you catching feelings and getting awkward about it because I'm not your type.'  

Why did she have to make  _sense_?  

'It's only for a week. And realistically if I'm taking someone I could convince them that we could only go for like five days instead of seven because work schedules or whatever.'  

He narrowed his eyes and took another sip of his drink as he mulled it over in his head.  

'I'll buy you like a month's worth of PlayStation Plus or something, please. I'm dying here.'  

'Fine,' he finally accepted. 'But only for the PlayStation Plus.'  

'Yes! Thank you so much, you won't regret it!'  

They were sat in the University cafeteria trying to have a reasonably pleasant lunch when Pidge launched into this idea. It was a simple concept: he just had to be her boyfriend for a week to impress her parents. She ran through a brief of what was happening with the wedding of some cousin she barely knew, how they were coupling the wedding with a prolonged visit to the family home.  

It made sense, and Keith supposed he and Pidge were close enough that her parents already knew of his existence but not so close that they’d met him and knew him as Pidge’s gay friend. They got on well and shared a decent amount of classes, and she was his favourite of his classmates. It was pure chance that she and Keith shared classes with a two year gap between them. She’d been bumped up a year thanks to her big brain, while he’d taken a gap year after high school to go travel with no real goal in mind.  

And now he had to spend five whole days with her family.  

* * *

Lance raised a brow at the man opposite him. 'Let me get this straight.'  

Matt groaned into his palm. 'Here we go.'  

'You want to hire me as your escort for a week. A whole week?'  

'Yeah. How much will that be?'  

Lance let out a low whistle. 'A fair amount, I'm not gonna lie. There's a reason people usually only hire me for the day.'  

'Don't I get mates rates?'  

'I mean, sure, but even then it's gonna cost a pretty penny.'  

'What about a discount for not actually having sex with you?'  

Lance shot him a withering look.  

'I'm desperate here, I've ran out of options.'  

The tanned man leant back in the booth they were sat in at their usual coffee shop and got a good look at his friend opposite. Desperate was one word to describe how he looked, sandy hair a mess and brown eyes having dark lines underneath them. He looked like this was actually causing a problem.  

'Why don't you find another date?' Lance asked. 'One who you don't have to pay?' 

'I have two weeks!' Matt argued. 'Two weeks to find someone who's willing to spend at least five days in the company of my family for a  _wedding_? How often do I actually meet people that makes that scenario a likely probability?'  

'Okay, fair.'  

'I thought about asking other people, but out of everyone I know you're probably most experienced with this sort of thing, right?'  

'Probably. It is a thing I've done before.'  

'Also I knew if I asked Hunk or Allura you'd get upset that I didn't ask you first.'  

That wasn't a completely baseless assumption because yes he probably would've but that wasn't the point. 'If you're willing to pay me, I'm willing to give you a discount. A lovely fifty percent off, because although you're asking me to take five days off work to accompany you to some awkward family thing...I guess it'll be cool to spend a whole week with you.'  

Matt looked ready to throw himself across the table and plant a big wet one on him. 'Thank you Lance! You won't regret this, I promise!'  

'Here's hoping...' Lance muttered. 'I'll need you to go through basic family things with me. When I'm working as pretending to be someone's date I have like, a list of things I usually need to know before.'  

'Of course. Whatever you need.'  

'And don't make this awkward,' Lance added. 'Please.'  

‘Weird? Me? Pffft! Yeah okay I’ll do my best.’  

‘Great. Now I need a list of names, people I’ll be meeting, if there’s anything in particular I need to be to impress your parents, try to keep it simple seeing as it’s five whole days – damn it this is why I should write up these questions into my phone I can never remember them off the top of my head!’  

‘Wow there’s a lot we need to go through.’  

Lance rolled his eyes. ‘Of course there is. I’m going to be a convincing boyfriend, so it’s going to need to actually look convincing. I’m going to be worth the money,  _trust me_.’  

It wouldn't be the first time he was escorting for a friend. He'd just never expected Matt to be the type to hire one, or have a family that would make him feel like he had to. But Lance knew the pressures of having an overbearing family member who liked to poke their nose into every nook and cranny of your life so he couldn't say he wasn't sympathetic to Matt's plight. Besides, what harm could five days do? Providing Matt acted as and how Lance told him to they would have this in the bag. 

He was a  _professional_. 

They were probably screwed. 


	2. Day One

****Keith stared up at the suburban house and felt his stomach drop to his feet. It took approximately sixteen seconds to lose every ounce of nerve he’d built up on the taxi ride over; he could feel it quickly evaporating into nothingness. It was such a picturesque house, with a white picket fence and a window in the top left that had stars stuck to the inside. It was so _perfect_. 

‘I can’t do this.’ 

Pidge groaned from her place next to him. ‘We haven’t even walked into the house yet, what’s wrong?’ 

‘Your house is so…’ 

He honestly couldn’t think of a good way to put it. But this was Pidge. She wouldn’t take it personally. 

‘ _Nice_.’ 

‘Seriously, Keith?’ 

He rolled his eyes. ‘You know what I mean. It’s nothing like…what I’m used to.’ 

She bit down on her lip and looked towards the building, dropping the duffle bag between their feet. ‘Okay, I get what you mean. Our family’s kinda…nuclear.’ 

He hummed in agreement. 

‘But it’s not too bad!’ she insisted. ‘We have our flaws, just like every other family. The fence is only white because Matt and I once accidentally set it on fire, but tried to hide the scorch marks under the guise of “it’s what wood does right”, and mum painted it white so she could see if we ever did it again.’ 

‘You set your fence on fire?’ 

‘Hey, you can’t say shit, I know you’ve done worse.’ 

‘It’s not a competition,’ he argued. 

‘If you’re really not comfortable with it though, we can leave,’ her voice took a softer tone. ‘I don’t mind.’ 

He looked back up to the window decorated with stars. Maybe… 

‘Make up your mind quickly though the curtain just moved.’ 

He swore under his breath and reached down to grab the duffle bag that held their things. ‘Fuck, let’s do this. Nuclear family here I come.’ 

Pidge beamed up at him before she began to fight for control over the bag on the way up to the front door, though he insisted if he was supposed to leave a good impression he should be the one to carry it. They arrived at the door just as it swung open, revealing a woman with short brown hair and eyes that had a striking resemblance to those of his friend. A wide smile lit up her face as she took in the scene on the doorstep. Keith did his best to match it though he had a feeling he looked more like he was grimacing. 

‘Katie!’ she greeted, rushing forward to wrap her arms around the smaller woman. ‘Welcome home.’ 

‘Thanks, mum,’ the girl pulled back and motioned to Keith next to her. ‘This is my boyfriend, Keith. I told you about him on the phone.’ 

He stretched a hand out in greeting. ‘Nice to meet you, Mrs Holt.’ 

The woman moved past the hand and wrapped her arms around him instead, giving a tight squeeze before quickly pulling back. ‘Please, Colleen is fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Keith. I’ve heard so many stories about you!’ 

He snapped his head to Pidge. What the hell had she told her mother? 

‘Come in, come in. No need to loiter on the porch.’ 

Katie moved in first with a bounce in her step. ‘Is Matt home yet?’ 

‘Not yet, him and his boyfriend were delayed so they wont be here till after dinner. Do you want to show Keith where your room is so he can put his bag-Katie where’s your bag?’ 

She shrugged. ‘We’re sharing one. It’s only five days, it’s not like we have a lot of stuff.’ 

‘Still a woman of practicality I see. Off you both go, you know where everything is. I’ll let your father know you’re here.’ 

With that she turned and clipped down the hall, a bounce in her step. Pidge was half way up the stairs, taking two at a time despite her short legs. Keith all but ran after her in an attempt to stick by her as much as humanly possible. 

‘So that’s a thing,’ Pidge muttered as she opened the door to her room. ‘I kind of expected them to have you sleep on the couch, but I guess if Matt’s boyfriend’s here too they can’t exactly pick one of you to do it.’ 

There were stars on the window. It was the room he’d seen from down below. ‘Yeah, I guess.’ 

Her room was considerably tidier than the one back at her dorm. Which probably had something to do with her parents, but he wasn’t going to complain. Posters of space decorated the walls and next to her bed there was a foldout bed set up with a towel on it. 

‘She gave  _you_ a towel.’ 

He smirked and dropped the bag, flopping down on the sheets. ‘You know where things are. I’m glad I have my own bed though.’ 

‘Mines only small,’ she noted. ‘She probably set them both up so we’d have space. That is a relief though.’ 

‘What has she heard of me so far then?’ 

Pidge shrugged. ‘Just generic stories. I talk about you every now and then. We do hang out a lot.’ 

‘That’s fair.’ 

‘I figure if we just play this like usual, but you know, with more handholding or whatever, then it shouldn’t be that weird, right? They can’t exactly call me out if they get suspicious.’ 

He nodded. 

‘Great. Let’s go meet my dad!’ 

The house on the inside looked just like he imagined it would when he saw it from the outside. Magnolia walls with family photos littering the hallways, light wooded furniture and splashes of colour from lampshades or ornaments. He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb in his leather jacket and black t-shirts. 

When they finally found her dad lounging in a chair in the conservatory they also found a beige terrier who Pidge immediately flew to in a mess of coos and affection, not even bothering to stop and introduce Keith to the grey haired man in the chair reading a book. Thankfully he took the initiative so Keith didn’t have to. 

‘You must be Keith! What a delight, Katie tells me you’re an engineering student, that you study aviation?’ 

‘Yes sir.’ 

‘Sam’s fine, Sir makes me feel like I’m doing a lecture. Take a seat; I’d love to hear a bit more about your course and what you study. Katie tends to gloss over these things when she’s giving us updates.’ 

She didn’t even react to the obvious jab in her direction. 

Talking to Sam Holt did put his mind at ease at least. Classes were something he could talk about with some confidence, and Mr Holt seemed clued up enough on the type of stuff he studied to hold an intelligent conversation about it. He asked all the right questions, supplied information when Keith’s brain had a fart, and joked at the relevant parts. Pidge eventually pulled her attention away from the dog long enough to scold her father for bad jokes that embarrassed her, but Keith felt himself sinking into the chair. 

Soon Mrs Holt called them for dinner, sitting Keith next to Pidge at the dining room table. The three family members chattered between themselves as Pidge updated her parents on what had been happening in her life, occasionally dropping questions to Keith to keep him involved in the conversation. 

Despite the uncomfortable feeling he had from sitting down at a dining room table and having two strangers witness him awkwardly shovel food in his mouth, it wasn’t so bad. Pidge’s parents were nice, and tried hard to keep him included without probing too much. He stood and offered to help clear the table when Mrs Holt got up, feeling a rush of triumph at her bright smile and thank yous. 

While he was in the kitchen he heard a commotion from the hallway that had Colleen chuckling fondly at his side. 

‘That’ll be Matt,’ she supplied with a roll of her eyes. ‘Those two are terrible when they’re in the same room together. The volume rises tenfold.’ 

He thought back to the excited look on Pidge’s face as they were packing, the numerous stories he’d heard of the older Holt. ‘I can imagine.’ 

‘Let’s go through and say hello. I can finish up in here after. I’ll have to get those two food ready anyway, I don’t think they’ve eaten yet.’ 

He dutifully followed her from the room as she scurried into the hallway and grimaced as he saw the cluster of people hanging about. Both Sam and Pidge had arrived to say hello to the final member of the Holt family, who had a second person standing next to him, obscured by Colleen’s form. Instead his eyes locked on to the face of the man currently shaking Pidge in his arms as he lifted her off the floor, a wide sunshine smile on his face. 

Keith felt his heart stutter. It was a weird observation to make, given how much the man looked like Pidge, who was the closest thing he’d had to a best friend in a long while, but he was pretty attractive. Shaggy brown hair and glittering eyes that spoke volumes. The expressive face is really what caught him off guard. 

‘This is Lance, my boyfriend. Lance, this is my family; Sam, Colleen, and my little sister Pidge.’ 

‘Nice to meet you all,’ the man hidden behind Colleen spoke, his voice light and playful. Oddly familiar. ‘Thanks for having me round.’ 

‘Oh it’s no problem at all!’ Colleen gushed as she lent forward to wrap the man in a hug. ‘It’s so nice of you to visit!’ 

Keith blanched as the tanned face of Lance finally came into view, his entire body going ridged. Whatever calmness he’d managed to gather from the past couple hours since entering the house was gone, much like his bravery as they arrived. Ocean blue eyes landed on him and narrowed before recognition settled on the man’s face and he pulled back from the hug in order to point a finger at Keith. 

‘Is that… _Keith_ _Kogane_?’

He swallowed a lump in his throat and resisted the urge to either flat out deny his own name or punch the wall. Instead he did the next best thing: ‘Who are you?’ 

* * *

Lance pushed his sunglasses up on his forehead as he surveyed the cute cul-de-sac Matt parked outside of. It was exactly the kind of place he could see Matt growing up in, very  _family friendly_ , in a similar way to where he’d been born was. But with less beach and more grass. 

‘Here we are!’ Matt announced. ‘The Holt family home.’ 

‘You’re nervous.’ 

‘Well yeah, of course I’m nervous! I’m about to go in there and…’ 

Lance knew a nervous client when he saw one. Matt was gripping the steering wheel even though they’d already pulled up at the house and turned off the car, acting like he was ready to start driving again as far away as he possibly could. Lance also knew desperation though, and he knew that when Matt first asked him to come along it was with the intention of not backing down. 

He lay a hand on the brunette’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. ‘Look at me.’ 

Brown eyes turned to his. 

‘Trust me, Matt. It’s gonna be fine.’ 

‘What if I fuck up?’ 

‘You won’t. I’ve had people fuck up before and I assure you I am a professional at covering mistakes.’ 

The man cracked a smile at least. 

‘Now let’s get in there and wow your parents with how madly in love we are.’ 

He was practiced at this. At playing out the role for the client. With Matt it was easy, it was the same as usual except with more romance and leaving out his second job as an escort. He stepped into the house with his suitcase in his hand and stopped to take off his shoes as two people appeared in the corridor. 

There was an older man who had the same smile that Matt had, that fond warmness in the creases. Sam Holt, the father. Running for Matt was a smaller young woman who looked like the splitting image of Matt, with the addition of round glasses framing her round face. The siblings met in a loud cheer and hug, Matt picking her up and shaking her as he did so. Lance rolled his eyes at the action, one he’d done many times to his various nieces and nephews. 

Finally the pair broke apart and Lance noticed an extra person who he pinned as Colleen Holt, and someone behind her who was presumably Pidge’s boyfriend Keith. Matt turned to him with a wide smile, though he could see the nerves still in the corners of his lips. 

‘This is Lance, my boyfriend. Lance, this is my family; Sam, Colleen, and my little sister Pidge.’ 

‘Nice to meet you all,’ he greeted with a wide smile, remembering his manners and trying to channel his Meet the Parents behaviour. ‘Thanks for having me round.’ 

‘Oh it’s no problem at all!’ Colleen gushed as she lent forward and wrapped him up in a warm hug. ‘It’s so nice of you to visit!’ 

That’s when his eyes landed on Keith. The same Keith who Matt had told him was dating his little sister Pidge. The Keith who Matt had never met before and only heard stories about. Keith, who had unforgettable violet eyes, long black hair, and a pair of new rocks that Lance knew for a fact he’d had since he was a teenager. 

‘Is that… _Keith_ _Kogane_?’

‘Who are you?’ 

He resisted the urge to literally  _foam at the mouth_ with the rage that coursed through him. Instead he gave a tight smile and pushed down his anger, reminding himself he had to leave a good impression on his fake-boyfriend’s family. 

‘Lance McClain?’ maybe Keith was the kind of guy that remembered names, not faces. ‘We went to school together. We were like, the top two students for advanced biology. I got into the extra circular stem class because you dropped out and that opened a space I got to take.’ 

And Keith  _always_ came out on top. 

The black haired man shrugged. ‘Sorry, I changed schools a lot. You’re welcome on the stem class though I guess?’ 

This guy.  _This fucking guy_. 

‘Babe?’ it was Matt, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. ‘You okay?’ 

Judging from the concerned looks he was getting from every member of the Holt family, he wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping his anger in check. He smoothed out the lines on his brow and sucked in a breath, flashing Matt a toothy smile. ‘Yeah, just tired. I feel like we haven’t eaten in days.’ 

Colleen perked up at that. ‘You’ll be glad to know I saved you some food! I wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry or not by the time you got here.’ 

‘You are a lifesaver, seriously.’ 

She laughed at the compliment and ushered him towards the main room where the dining table sat, seating him down and calling back to Matt to tell him and Pidge to take the bags upstairs. Sam and Keith disappeared to where the conservatory was while Colleen put a plate of food in front of him and asked him about his journey, matching his enthusiastic chatter piece for piece. 

Matt eventually returned and grabbed his own plate of food, thanking his mother as she dipped out the room and told them she was joining the others and leaving the pair to eat their food together. As soon as she left the room he knew what was coming. Matt was always a nosey little shit. 

‘So-!’ 

Lance cut him off with a loud groan. 

Matt only laughed. ‘You don’t even know what I was going to say!’ 

‘Fine, finish your sentence.’ 

‘So Keith?’ 

He gave an even louder groan. 

‘How do you know him?’ 

‘He was at my high school,’ Lance explained. ‘Though he left early. He was a weird kid. Dropped out due to some disciplinary thing.’ 

Matt’s eyes narrowed. ‘Disciplinary?’ 

‘Yeah. I mean there were loads of rumours about him that circled round. All I know is that we were like, neck and neck, practically certified  _rivals_ , and I can’t believe he doesn’t  _remember_!’ 

‘Rumours like  _what_?’ 

Lance gave him a withering look. ‘Matt I can see you probing. You’re meant to be giving me sympathy, not getting the dirt on your sister’s new boyfriend.’ 

‘I’m allowed to be concerned!’ he argued. ‘I don’t want her falling in with the wrong crowd.’ 

‘Yeah, it’d be a real shame if she started drinking and smoking po-!’ 

‘That was one time.’ 

‘One time as in one time a week, sure.’ 

Matt pouted into his food. ‘Fine. I’m sorry that you’re butthurt that Keith doesn’t remember you.’ 

‘I’m going to be the bigger person and ignore your insincerity in favour of accepting your sympathy. Like a good boyfriend.’ 

Matt blew a raspberry at him. 

They spent the next ten minutes hovering up the food in front of them before they took it upon themselves to do the rest of the washing up. By the time they finished up and moved to the conservatory Pidge looked dead on her feet, eyes drooping and head nodding every so often. Lance couldn’t say he was upset when Keith offered to take her up to bed, explaining that they’d had a long day travelling. 

She protested at first, complaining she hadn’t managed to spend any time with her brother, but Matt ruffled her hair and promised to spend quality sibling time with her the next day. Keith wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her out the room without so much a glance in Lance’s direction. 

He squashed the petty frustration and turned his smile to the parents instead. At least talking mindlessly about himself was something he was capable of doing. 

He asked questions about the upcoming wedding and quickly discovered that Matt got his sense of humour from his dad. He made a note to point it out with a fond eye-roll which Colleen happily agreed with. Sam asked him about his work at the aquarium he got over the summer break, and how he enjoyed studying marine biology. 

By the time they retired to bed Lance was beat. Matt showed him the bathroom and promptly passed out in the double bed that sat in his room, leaving Lance to sort out the rest of his routine on his own, which suited him fine. 

He unzipped his suitcase to take his suit out to hang up for the wedding, making sure it didn’t get too creased, before he began to unpack his toiletries and put on a facemask and brush his teeth. 

By the time he went to bed he’d completely forgotten about his resentment to Keith and the sound of someone sleeping softly beside him lulled him to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone ever has any dumb cliche moments they want to see happen do not be afraid to ask for them. I want to make this as sappy as hell.


	3. Day Two

Everything about this situation screamed for him to run away. He’d practically had a panic attack just from the sight of the house the night before, and now  _Lance Mc-fucking-_ _Clain_ was here to top things off. He felt a strong urge to bang his head into the closest wall, or dive out the nearest window, but the knowledge that he’d leave Pidge to answer a whole load of questions stopped him.  

Instead he was on a morning walk with her and the dog while her brother and Lance slept, their parents going about their day as usual. He was going to have to own up to it eventually. He was surprised it took as long as it did for her to answer the question, though that was probably because she didn’t want to tip anyone in the house off.  

‘Do you really not know who Lance is, cause he seemed pretty convinced he knew who you were?’  

Keith grimaced and tried to avoid looking into her inquisitive gaze. ‘I remember him. Sort of.’  

‘Why did you pretend you didn’t?’  

She always addressed the most pressing issue. He tried to find the best way to express it. ‘I panicked. He’s probably the worst person to sell me as a potential boyfriend to your parents.’  

‘Oh come on, I know we joke about you at school but it can’t have been that bad.’  

‘It wasn’t that bad! Lance is just melodramatic. It’s not  _my_ fault the firework went off early, and it was technically part of a science experiment so I can’t be held solely responsible for it!’  

‘Hey, on the plus side, maybe he’ll paint you as the bad-boy my parents fear so when we break up they’re not so upset.’  

‘Wow. Thanks. That’s real inspiring.’  

Her dry humour did manage to make him feel better at least.  

He rolled his eyes at that one as they continued to walk round the housing estate. ‘You found your old dresses for the wedding yet?’  

‘No!’ she huffed out. ‘They’ve all gone missing! Mum must’ve shoved them away in storage somewhere; we’re going to have to conduct a raid on the house.’  

‘Alright.’ 

‘I can’t believe they moved them out my room! Out of everything to get rid of when I bring a boy home, they get rid of the pretty clothes. Not the embarrassing teenage memorabilia or anything.’  

He gave an amused hum and raised a brow at her. ‘You’re telling me you have any shame over that Nuka Cola girl figurine?’  

‘No, I don’t, but I might’ve done.’  

The dog came bounding back over to them as Pidge whistled and crouched down. The force she was hit with nearly knocked her off balance, but she managed to keep herself steady and put the lead back on. He could see the start of the houses coming back into view, the small wooded area behind them. A nervousness began to bubble in the pit of his stomach once again.  

‘You’re doing really well by the way.’  

He looked down as she spoke with wide eyes. ‘What do you mean?’  

‘At being my boyfriend. I’m glad I asked you. I’m glad you said yes.’  

The small vouch of confidence was enough to make him keep going forward, even if he did want to run away.  

* * *

As soon as Pidge and Keith got home, she began tearing up the house like a hurricane. It was a typical Pidge thing to do; she was a little like a bomb going off when she entered a room. She charged around demanding answers for her missing clothes, though if Matt was completely honest he was kind of tunnelling in on Keith.  

Matt frowned as he continued to watch the pair across the room mutter between themselves with wild hand gestures as they continued their hunt. ‘Pidge has talked about Keith before, and for some reason I kind of always imagined he was…gay.’  

Lance snorted from his place next to his friend, flicking through one of the National Geographic magazines they always had on the coffee table. ‘Don’t write that theory off just yet.’  

'What do you mean?'  

'My gay-dar is going off something fierce just from looking at him.'  

'Seriously?'  

Lance nodded. 'Without a doubt. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but I'd bet real money on it.'  

'So...what? He's using Pidge as his beard?'  

'Maybe.'  

Matt's frown deepened. 'I don't like it.'  

'Maybe she's done what you did and is totally faking it.'  

'Impossible.'  

Lance rolled his eyes. 'Alright, whatever you say.'  

Matt groaned and tore the magazine from Lance’s hands. ‘I’m being serious here, Lance! I am concerned for my baby sister.’  

The man rolled his eyes and dropped the magazine into his lap. ‘Fine. You bigger siblings are all the same. Why don’t you just…give him the shovel talk or something? Scare him into submission.’  

Matt looked at the dark haired man in question. Well fitted grey t-shirt, aggressive looking boots,  _leather gloves_.  

Uhuh. Yeah. He wasn’t that intimidating.  

‘Don’t you have history with him?’ Matt questioned. ‘Wouldn’t you be a better fit?’  

‘First of all, I do not have  _history_ with him,’ Lance hissed under his breath. ‘I was in no way involved with  _Keith_ _Kogane_ so don’t even imply that. That period of my life is a black spot on an otherwise beautiful story. Second, why would I be the one to give your sister’s boyfriend the shovel talk? I don’t know her.’  

‘Oh come on, Lance, I’d do  _anything_.’  

‘I’m already doing you a favour.’  

‘Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top please?’  

Lance huffed and rolled his eyes. ‘How about this: I’ll get Pidge out the house so you can spend some quality brother-bonding-time with Keith. See if you can get any info out of him. That way you’ll find out yourself that he’s an asshole and it doesn’t matter if he’s gay, because he’s a jackass.’  

‘What is your hangup?’ Matt asked. ‘I know that you’ve got this big thing with being unforgettable, but is this one guy really all that?’  

‘You don’t understand,’ Lance droned. ‘I need validation from everyone, Matthew. Don’t test me on this.’  

Pidge flew back into the room with redness to her face and her hair sticking out at odd angles. The glasses she usually wore were being used as a makeshift headband to keep her hair out her eyes as she scanned the room with a narrowed gaze.  

‘You alright there, Pidgey?’  

‘Matt!’ she snapped as her eyes locked on him. ‘Let me in your room!’  

‘No way.’  

‘Yes way!’ she stormed forward, Keith close on her tail. ‘I can’t find my nice dresses anywhere! I don’t know what mum’s done with them but they’re  _gone_! I didn’t bring anything for the wedding, there wasn’t enough space in our bag.’  

Matt smirked up at her. ‘Should’ve brought a bigger bag.’  

‘What-ever. Let me in your room I need to check.’  

‘I can assure you, they’re not in his room,’ Lance butted in. ‘I raided it yesterday for embarrassing memorabilia I could torment him with and found no girl’s clothes. Also I had to unpack my stuff into the wardrobe so it didn’t get creased.’  

Matt glared across at Lance. He would remember that for when he got to go to Lance’s childhood home.  

‘What am I going to do?’ she groaned into her palms. ‘We only have four days left!’  

‘Why don’t I go shopping with you?’  

Three sets of eyes landed on Lance, who was grinning up at Pidge from his place on the sofa.  

‘We can find something nice and put it on Matt’s credit card or something, it’d be great.’  

‘Hey!’  

Pidge’s eyes widened slightly as she looked down at the tanned man. ‘Are-are you sure? I’ve been told I’m not…the easiest to shop for. Or with.’  

‘Course, it’ll be fun. I’m like the go to guy for shopping when it comes to my nieces and nephews, I’m super experienced. You cannot be more difficult than two seven year olds and a baby.’  

She lowered the glasses back on her face. ‘Okay. I’ll go get my sweater and then we can head out?’  

‘Sure! Isn’t…’ Lance sat up properly to look around the living room. ‘Isn’t someone going to need to clean up this mess though? I can’t imagine your parents are going to be happy when they get home…’  

Matt briefly looked around the room. It wasn’t  _that_ bad. They’d left it in worse states than this.  

‘I can.’  

His attention was drawn back to Keith, who stood with his hands jammed in his pockets and his brows pulled together as he spoke.  

‘I did help make the mess, I don’t mind cleaning it up. I don’t think I’d be much help with shopping anyway.’  

He almost missed the way Lance’s foot hit the back of his calf. Matt tried to smile as he spoke. ‘I’ll help out. Shopping sounds boring.’  

Lance nodded approvingly at their responses. ‘Alright, let’s get going! Gimme your keys, Matt.’  

‘You don’t even know where you’ll be driving!’  

‘Pidge can direct me it’ll be fine.’  

Matt glowered but handed over the keys anyway. Lance winked and leant forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek before he was barrelling off the sofa and out the room to find his coat and his shoes, Pidge close behind him with a stream of thank yous to Keith for staying to clear up their mess.  

The two men waited in silence as the sound of Lance and Pidge gathering their things rang through the house. He heard them both shout a goodbye and another thank you as they left with a slam of the front door.  

Matt looked up at Keith, who still stood with a grumpy frown on his face, not looking in Matt’s direction. He was going to have to take charge here apparently.  

‘So!’ He pushed himself to his feet and gave a shaky smile. ‘Where shall we start?’  

They agreed on the living room, and Keith immediately went to the mess he had made in the corner of the room as he started putting things away. Matt hovered around picking and poking at the mess to move it from one corner to the other, trying to think of the best way to go about…whatever it was he was about to go about.  

What did he even want from this? To see if Keith was good enough for his sister?  

‘Keith,’ he tried to keep his voice casual and light, leaning against the bookshelf next to Keith. The violet eyes snapped up sharply. ‘How are you enjoying our humble abode?’  

‘Uh…’ Keith glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the room. ‘It’s…nice?’  

‘Good! I’m glad to hear it. It’s your first time visiting, right?’  

‘Yeah, it is.’  

Matt gave a slightly wobbly laugh. ‘I always found it so weird how Pidge lives so close by yet never seems to visit. You’re like what, an hour away?’  

‘I guess.’  

Cripes this guy was hard to get a read on. ‘I hope she’s looking after herself properly.’  

‘She’s pretty independent.’  

He was going to have to try a new tactic. Keith was nearly finished tidying up this pile. ‘So tell me, what do you do?’  

Keith stopped everything. He straightened his back and turned to Matt properly, one eyebrow raised as the violet eyes scanned his face. Matt felt his casual banter-mode switch off and drop to the floor under the scrutinising gaze. Shit.  _Damn_. What the heckie was he meant to do?  

‘Are you…’ Keith narrowed his eyes. ‘…Are you interrogating me?’  

‘What?!’ he squawked. ‘Absolutely not! I wouldn’t even dream of it! I’m just trying to get to know my new good buddy pal better, that’s all!’  

He clearly didn’t buy it. ‘Pidge said this was like a thing you did. Being protective or whatever.’  

‘Well  _Pidge_  is definitely, one hundred percent, absolutely right, yes, I am protective of my little sister, but only because she is brilliant and deserves the  _best_.’  

‘So you want to know if I’m good enough for her?’  

‘Heck, when you put it like that-!’ Matt grimaced and waved his hands about to brush the issue off. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m just…making sure she’s okay. That’s all.’ 

Violet eyes narrowed further and Keith leant in as if he was trying to get a better look of Matt’s expression. Damn this guy was scary looking.  

‘Sorry if I offended you!’  

Something in his words must’ve snapped Keith out of whatever inquisition shit he was trying to pull. The violet eyes widened and he took three steps back, coughing into his fist to clear his throat out before he spoke. ‘You didn’t. I-I didn’t mean to…it’s nice. That you look out for Pidge.’  

‘Well, yeah, that’s what family’s for, right?’ he clicked his fingers and fired two finger-guns at the other man. ‘Who else is gonna question the scary boys if her big bro doesn’t?’  

Keith rolled his eyes, but turned back to the work he was doing with a small smile. ‘I study Aeronautical engineering.’  

‘Planes, huh?’  

‘Yeah. Pidge and I share a couple of physics classes.’  

‘You’re in the same year? I thought you were Lance’s age…’  

Keith grimaced and put the last of the books away. ‘I am. I took a gap year when I finished high school, I went travelling.’  

‘And Pidge got accepted early,’ Matt finished the thought process. ‘That’s pretty lucky. Worked out well for you, huh?’  

‘Yeah,’ there was a fond smile playing at the edges of Keith’s lips. ‘I’m really lucky to have her as my fr- _girlfriend_.’  

The room stopped.  

‘My girlfriend,’ Keith echoed with the wide eyes back on his face. ‘She’s awesome and I love her in a romantic way.’  

Why was he here again? Ah, yes,  _is Keith gay_ , that was it.  

‘My girlfriend, and you are her brother, here with your boyfriend,’ Keith continued as he spun on his heel and headed straight for the next pile to tidy. ‘Great talk.’  

Matt made strangling actions with his hands in the direction of Keith’s back as the man crossed the living room before he tried to suffocate his frustration. He could do this. He could totally be subtle. Subtle and Matt? Old friends. Good buddy chum pals.  

‘It doesn’t bother you, does it?’ he asked as he followed Keith across the room. ‘Me and Lance?’  

‘Why would it bother me? Is this-is this the Lance thing? I swear I get that he’s mad I didn’t recognise him but-!’  

‘No!’ Matt waved it off. ‘Not that, though if that does bother you just let me know and I’ll hide salt packets in his pockets or something.’  

‘Then what?’  

‘The fact that we’re two manly men romantically committed to each other.’  

Keith stared at him.  

‘You know. The gay thing.’  

His mouth formed a small o shape as he made a noise of acknowledgement.  

‘Yeah, that. Does it? Bother you?’  

‘No,’ Keith shook his head firmly. ‘Absolutely not. You just…live your life-sorry!’ a gloved hand came up to cover his mouth as a shake of laughter filled his voice. ‘I’m not laughing about it I promise.’  

‘What? What’s so funny?’  

‘It’s just-!’ Keith snorted out laughter as the sniggering came in full force. ‘You and Lance?  _Manly_  men?’  

Matt felt a hot flush of embarrassment and damaged pride. ‘I’m manly!’  

‘Sure.’  

‘I am!’ he insisted. ‘I have muscles! Feel my arms!’  

‘Seriously?’  

‘Yes seriously! I don’t joke about muscles, Keith. There’s a time and a… _plaice_  for everything.’  

Keith stared at him with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow.  

‘You know, cause mussels, like the shellfish, and then plaice is a type of…you know what it doesn’t matter.’  

‘Did you make a  _pun_?’  

‘I did and I thought it was very funny.’  

The man started his weird little giggle-snort again, but he raised his hand to rest on Matt’s bicep as he took a step forward so they were facing each other properly. ‘Alright then,  _manly man_ , show me your shellfish.’  

There was a twinkle in the violet depths that spurred him forward. Matt smirked down at Keith and flexed his arm, pleased to see the dark brows rise upwards. ‘See?  _Muscles._  Good enough to eat.’  

‘Not bad…’ Keith dropped his hand and raised his arm upwards, eyes locking Matt in place. He felt his throat run dry. ‘You wanna compare?’  

He looked at the pale arm in the slim fitting t-shirt and reached up without much hesitation. Probably less hesitation than he probably should’ve given it.  

‘Holy mackerel.’  

‘Still going with the fish theme?’  

Matt stared at the flexed muscle he was squeezing down on. He would be lying if he said Keith didn't look strong, but feeling it beneath his fingers was something else. ‘That’s pretty…impressive.’  

‘Pidge and I entered a competition with one of the frat boys once. She sat on my back while I did pushups.’  

He was almost frightened to ask: ‘Who won?’  

Keith’s smirk widened. ‘I did.’  

The jingling of keys in the front door rang through, followed by it opening and Sam Holt calling out a greeting to see if anyone was home.  

Matt dropped his hand like it had been burnt and felt heat beginning to fill his cheeks. Keith looked equally as guilty, spinning on his heel quickly and going back to tidying the mess of the living room. How long had they even been talking? It can’t have been more than ten minutes. They’d barely made a start on tidying the house. 

‘Kids, are you-Matt! There you are! How’s your morning been?’  

‘Good!’ he swallowed the lump in his throat as his voice came out pitchy. ‘We were just-uh-cleaning up.’  

‘It looks like Pidge has left her stamp already.’  

He gave a nervous laugh. ‘Yeppers!’  

‘Where is she?’  

‘She’s gone with Lance to go shopping, she couldn’t find her old formal clothes.’  

Keith finally interjected into the conversation. ‘She said she’d left some dresses here she could wear for the wedding, but we couldn’t find them.’  

Realisation dawned across Sam’s face as he knocked the side of his head in a jovial manner. ‘Of course! I completely forgot. We put all those dresses into a box in the garage a little while ago. There was a leak in Katie’s room that was causing damp to grow; your mother was worried they’d get damaged.’  

Matt exchanged a look with Keith. Keith shrugged at him. ‘Should we…message them? Let them know its okay?’  

‘I guess?’  

Sam shook his head and made his way to the couch. ‘I wouldn’t worry about it. It’ll do them good to get some bonding in, you two as well! There’s never anything wrong with spending extra family time together!’  

Matt felt a weight settle on his chest at the words. Right. Bond with Pidge’s boyfriend, the same way she’d bond with his  _boyfriend_. That was a thing.  

‘Don’t let me distract you boys, you keep doing what you were doing.’  

His mind flashed back to strong muscles under his fingertips and- _no_. That was a bad Matt. Pidge’s boyfriend.  _Lucky girl_.  

‘I-uh-I’m gonna go tidy up Pidge’s room then,’ Keith muttered as he began slinking towards the door. ‘Cover more ground.’  

‘Right!’ Matt nodded in agreement and gave a double thumbs up. ‘Excellent thinking, partner.’  

Keith’s wide eyed look broke with a small smile at the dorky gesture, though he returned it anyway as he backed out the door. Matt felt a little lighter as Keith disappeared from sight and left him in the living room, fighting back the smile on his face that only came from getting a thumbs up back from Keith. It was a little ridiculous, but he felt like maybe it was progress in the right direction.  

He cursed under his breath as he realised Keith left him with the rest of the living room to clean and no closer to discovering if the man was using his sister as a beard.  

* * *

They had barely been there five minutes. Lance walked them into the building and began to scout out any nice looking shops that might hold dresses that would suit Pidge when she disappeared from his side. He came to an abrupt halt and looked around to try see her tiny figure over the sea of heads, muttering something about short people and their tiny genes. When his eyes finally landed on her he saw she was staring off at something in the arcade and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course  _nerd_ ran in the family.  

‘Hey, you alright?’  

‘Are those…’ she leant forward as if it would help her see better. ‘…Voltron lions?’  

‘Voltron?’ he perked his head up and looked over to where her gaze seemed to be.  

‘Yeah, you know,’ she gestured with one hand. ‘Five mini-lion robots come together to-!’  

‘-Make one super mega robot,’ he finished with a wide grin.  

‘You know Volton?’  

‘Dude!’ he barked out a laugh at her surprised look. ‘Of course I know Voltron! I loved that show when I was a kid, I used to make my big brother sit down and watch it with me all the time! Though he  _hated_ it.’  

‘Same!’ her smile grew wider. ‘I used to make Matt play it with me in the back garden when we were kids! He always got to be the black lion, and made me play the green one.’  

Lance snorted and before he knew it they were in the arcade and heading to the claw machines. ‘Of course Matt chose the black lion. He’d make a  _terrible_ leader!’  

‘He did!’ she confirmed. ‘But that’s okay; I liked the green one better anyway. For me it was just confirmation that I was smarter.’  

The flashing lights surrounded them and Lance pressed his nose against the glass to see that there were indeed plush toys of the robot lions from the show, sat and waiting for someone to claim them.  

‘These things are rigged though,’ Pidge whined. ‘Last time I tried to make a program to monitor how close it was to having enough money to actually lock in place and get a toy, because that’s  _totally_ how they do it, and they kicked me out for tampering with the machines.’  

Lance gave a proud puff of air through his nose and pushed his sleeves up. ‘Fear not, Green Paladin. I am a master at claw machines.’  

‘Really?’ she smirked up at him. ‘How are you a master of  _claw machines_?’  

‘Skill, obviously.’  

‘I think you mean luck.’  

‘Same diff,’ he whipped out his wallet and fished out some change. ‘Now watch and learn. We’re gonna get you that green lion.’  

They spent more money on it than they probably should’ve. Once he ran out of coins Pidge fished out what was in the bottom of her pockets, firing them in and pressing her fingers against the glass till she left a collection of greasy fingerprints all over the front of the machine. Lance grit his teeth as he concentrated, pressing buttons and pushing forward, refusing to settle for anything other than the green one.  

He caught hold of the tag and sucked in a breath, feeling Pidge’s hand clutch onto his arm in a deathly grip. They watched as the lion rose up, shook slightly, before slowly moving to the chute.  

He held his breath.  

The lion dropped down to the collection bin.  

Pidge let out a shriek and cheered loud, clapping her hands together and jumping up to wrap her arms around him in a hug. Lance laughed and picked her up round the waist before spinning, stumbling only a little bit from the momentum before dropping her to the floor and ducking down to get the plush toy from the machine.  

‘There’s one more go left,’ Pidge announced as he pulled his arm out with the lion. ‘Do you want to try get one?’  

Lance hummed softly and looked to the machine, trying to pick which the easiest to get would be now he wasn’t pressured by preference. ‘What colour would I suit do you think…?’  

They ended up with Pidge holding the green lion close to her chest while Lance carried a matching blue one under his arms.  

‘While we’re here,’ he pointed over to where the air hockey table sat completely free and beckoning him over. ‘Why don’t we play some real games?’  

‘Really?’ she practically bounced on her feet. ‘Shouldn’t we get what we came for first?’  

He blew a raspberry. ‘We have  _loads_ of time! Besides, is one game really gonna make a difference?’  

One game probably wouldn’t have made a difference. But it wasn’t just one game they played. It was more like five.  

It was Pidge’s phone going off that alerted them to the time, both swearing as Keith’s name flashed repeatedly on the screen. Pidge answered and apologised profusely for abandoning him in the house alone with her family members, promising they would head home as soon as they found the perfect dress. It got them back on track at least.  

Lance abandoned all initial determination to scour every store for something brilliant and instead dragged her into his sister’s favourite, insisting that they would definitely find something nice and cheap within five minutes after they blew all their money in the arcade.  

She wasn’t kidding when she said she was difficult to shop with. She seemed to either be indifferent to what they had, or grimace at the very thought of it. At least she was happy to let him drag her round the store and point out every single item he thought might suit her, wasting no time um-ing and ah-ing over the clothes. If her reaction wasn’t instantaneous, it wasn’t good enough.  

‘Lance, I’m happy just taking that lilac one, it’s not  _that_ bad.’  

‘I want you to get something you actually like, not- _wait_.’  

She raised a brow as he clutched her wrist and dragged her through the store, his eyes locked on the prize.  

‘This.’  

‘Lance.’  

‘Yes?’  

‘That’s not a dress.’  

He scoffed at her response and rolled his eyes as he picked the dark green jumpsuit off the rail, holding it up. The light and airy material flowed round his legs as he spun it with gold accents glittering. ‘What is this, the sixteenth centaury? You’re allowed to wear pants, Pidge.’  

Her frown deepened. ‘Mum won’t-!’  

‘She shouldn’t have hidden your dresses then. Jeez-Louise, what’s with you Holts and doing what you’re told?’  

She snatched the article of clothing off him. ‘I don’t do everything I’m told!’  

‘Oh really?’ he crossed his arms as he issued the challenge. ‘Prove it then. What do  _you_ want to buy?’  

She hesitated, staring up with big brown doe eyes before she looked down at the jumpsuit in her hands. When she looked up again there was a fire in her eyes that had a grin splitting across his face.  

They bypassed trying it on and decided to keep the receipt instead just to be on the safe side. They were in a rush, thank you very much Miss Cashier.  

‘If anyone asks,’ she muttered conspiratorially as they approached the front door to the Holt residence, the lion soft toys stuffed in the bag with the outfit. ‘We definitely did not spend the whole time in the arcade.’  

Lance nodded. ‘Got it, boss-man.’  

‘Right,’ she pushed the door open and shot a cheeky grin over her shoulder. ‘I’ll sneak your lion into Matt’s room.’  

She didn’t give him a chance to finish before she’d announced their arrival and that she was going upstairs to try on her outfit. He toed off his shoes and stepped further into the house to find his dutiful boyfriend in the kitchen, a far off look on his face as he repeatedly dried the same plate over and over.  

‘Hey,’ Lance greeted as he stepped forward and took the plate off Matt. ‘Miss me?’  

‘Huh?’ his eyes slowly came back into focus, along with a sheepish grin. ‘Yeah, hey, welcome back babe.’  

‘How was your talk with Mullet-Man?’  

‘It was pretty good!’ the grin on his face grew. ‘Did you know he can do push-ups while Pidge sits on his back? That’s pretty cool.’  

Lance’s eyes narrowed as he observed the way the brown eyes went out of focus again for a moment.  

‘But I didn’t really get any answers. He seems to really care about her though so that’s pretty good! How was shopping?’  

Lance knew that look. He knew that look because it was one of the first things he’d ever seen on Matt’s face, when he was introduced to Allura for the first time and Lance felt the familiar pang of annoyance whenever he thought about that day. Petty annoyance, but still annoyance. It was the look Matt had given her when he first saw her.  

‘Shopping was great, Pidge is pretty hilarious. Memes run in the family, huh?’  

‘Yeah, pretty much.’  

Later that night when they went to bed Matt did have some questions about where the blue lion sat on his pillow came from, and was thoroughly unconvinced by his casual assurance that they passed by the arcade for five minutes while shopping. Apparently he knew both Pidge and Lance well enough to know neither of them could just 'pass by' an arcade.  

Lance argued that meant that his sister was cooler than him.  

* * *

Dinner time was Pidge’s least favourite part of this entire façade. 

When she was a teenager she hated that her parents would insist on them all sitting round and eating together. She had better things to do than sit at a table and listen to their work schedules, especially after Matt left for college. When she was sixteen they finally let up and allowed her to eat in her room on the condition she brought her plates down as soon as she was finished eating. 

She successfully did this about eighty percent of the time. 

The only time after that they would all eat at the table was when Matt was visiting. 

But now it felt odd. She would sit next to Keith, someone she considered a good friend, especially after agreeing to come out with her and be her boyfriend for the week, and opposite her was Lance. He would laugh at all the right things and be the perfect, charming example of the kind of boy you would want your son dating, with the occasional moment of being too loud or brash. Perfect, but not too perfect to be unreal. 

She could feel Keith watching him and Matt interact, trying to learn so he wouldn’t let her down. She occasionally nudged him to share an inside joke, or give a soft smile to attempt to relax his nerves. She felt kind of guilty for putting him in a situation he wasn’t comfortable with, but Keith didn’t seem like the type to agree to something he wasn’t willing to do. 

‘Okay, we get it, dad, you know all the embarrassing stories. Why don’t you tell one of Pidge for once instead of me?’ 

She smirked across the table at her brother. ‘Because I don’t have any. You’re the embarrassing one.’ 

He blew a raspberry her way. ‘I know all your dark secrets, Pidgey. You can’t hide anything from me.’ 

He was the only one she’d been worried about seeing through her, and as much as it killed her to admit it she knew there was only one reason why he didn’t: he trusted her not to lie. 

It was like a hot knife to the gut, but she threatened to throw peas across the table anyway as if it was completely normal and nothing was wrong. She always was a pretty good actress. It’s how all the embarrassing stories were about Matt. Usually she could bluff her way through a situation so it didn’t come round to bite her in the ass. 

The only thing that made her feel better about it oddly was Lance. She knew that she’d be able to carry this over the week, tell her family about a mutual break up, and then continue as if nothing had ever happened. But knowing that her brother had Lance just softened the blow. 

Even if she was being cruel, at least someone was there to be kind. 

Her mother caught her when she and Keith had finished doing the washing up and he disappeared upstairs to get ready for bed. A gentle smile on her face, Coleen wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulder and pulled her close. 

‘Are you alright, sweetheart? You seemed a little down at dinner.’ 

Pidge shrugged it off best she could. ‘Yeah, mom, I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.’ 

‘You let me know if you need anything, okay?’ 

‘Thanks.’ 

Maybe it was something she could use in the future when her mother asked why she and Keith had broken up. Pull back to this moment, and explain that they’d been having problems for a while. 


	4. Day Three

Matt was definitely onto them.  

Keith was convinced. One hundred percent sure. After his slip up the day before and his horrendous ability of covering it up with natural acting and the weird questioning there was no way he wasn’t at least a little bit suspicious. The man had studied astrophysics, he was as much a genius as Pidge was, her whole  _family_ was built up of geniuses, how in the hell did she think they would ever manage to successfully do this?!  

Pidge levelled him with an unimpressed look when they spoke about it that morning, raising a single brow and pausing in getting ready while he lay sprawled across her bed, green lion sat on his stomach.  

‘Seriously?’ she rolled her eyes. ‘He was probably just doing that awkward over-protective thing. You worry too much.’  

He groaned at her words as she continued pulling her shirt over her head and brushing her mop of hair. ‘Yes seriously! I know you had a great fun time at the arcade with your new best friend Lance, but you left me at the mercy of your brother, and it was less bonding and more…’  

He trailed off and stared up at the ceiling, remembering the awkward lunch that he shared with Matt and Sam Holt. Matt had spent the whole time giving him the shifty side-eye, Sam seemingly unaware. But there was something about the brown eyes and the occasional flush of pink across freckled cheeks that had his head spinning.  

Maybe it was just the memory of warm fingers wrapped round his arm and the stunned admiration that had been obviously painted across the man’s face.  

‘More what?’  

‘Huh?’  

Pidge narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Less bonding and more…? More what?’  

‘Uh. I don’t know.’  

She began to stalk over like a piranha. ‘Keith what did you do?’  

He sprung up, the green lion falling into his lap as he spluttered at the accusation. ‘I didn’t do anything!’  

‘You’ve got that guilty look on your face.’  

‘I do not!’  

‘You so totally do. Fess up. What happened?’  

He grimaced and floundered for words that would help express his feelings towards the situation yesterday and the sandy haired brother of his close friend. The way the eyes lit up and his face was so bright and positive from the force of his smile.  

‘I know that this is kind of weird considering your brother looks, like, exactly like you,’ he started as his eyes locked with Pidge’s, steeling his resolve. ‘But he’s a lot more attractive than I thought he would be.’  

She stuck her tongue out and made a retching sound. ‘Wow, never say that to me again.’  

He glared up at her and threw the soft toy in her direction. ‘You owe me two months of PlayStation Plus for this.’  

‘How?!’ she scrambled to keep hold of the toy. ‘I’m providing you with free eye candy apparently!’  

'That I can do nothing about because I'm  _your_ boyfriend.’  

'He's got a boyfriend! You wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.'  

He rolled his eyes. 'Thanks Pidge. You're great at this pep talk thing.'  

'I know,’ she let out a dramatic sigh. ‘But fine. Two months. Seeing as it’s going to be  _that_  difficult for you to keep it in your pants, even though I can count the number of times you’ve flirted with people on one hand.’ 

He smirked up at her and flopped back on the bed. Score.  

‘Ugh. If I catch you looking at him the wrong way I’ll make sure I vomit on your shoes.’  

Keith wanted to reassure her and confirm she didn’t have to worry about it, but he also didn’t want to have to lie.  

‘I was…kind of hoping you’d do me a favour.’  

He raised a brow. ‘Seriously?’  

‘I haven’t seen Matt in like,  _months_ ,’ she dropped down on the bed next to him and flicked at the ear of the green lion. ‘And I was really hoping that I’d get to like, spend some quality time with him or something.’  

It took him a moment to clock on to what she was saying, but when he did his instant reaction was pure horror. ‘Are you going to ask what I think you’re going to ask?’  

She looked up with puppy dog eyes. ‘It’s just for one day, I promise. A couple of hours max! You could take the chance to try and sort out this weird thing that you two have going on.’  

‘I’m not spending prolonged time with Lance McClain. It’s not happening. This is the worst idea you have ever had.’  

‘What, you going to kill each other or something?’  

If his hand was forced…he wouldn’t rule it out as a possibility.  

‘As my boyfriend-!’  

‘Oh here we go.’  

‘-It’s your responsibility, your  _duty_ , to make sure I have a wonderful week with my family. That includes spending time with my brother’s boyfriend and giving me a chance to catch up with my favourite big brother.’  

‘Your only big brother.’  

She rarely had such a pitiful look on her face. He got the impression he’d be seeing it a lot over the next few days.  

As soon as the loud groan left his throat she pumped a fist in the air and shot off the bed, knowing that was the sound of his defeat. If nothing else seeing her so excited at the prospect of spending quality time with her sibling was worth whatever torture that Lance could possibly inflict on him. He hoped.  

‘I’ll ask Matt if he wants to take Bae Bae to the old lake-it’d take us about two hours I guess, we used to go all the time when we were kids. Mum used to get worried that if we didn’t leave to walk the dog we’d spend all our time locked up in our rooms which, you know, wasn’t entirely unwarranted.’ 

He listened to her babble on for a few more minutes before she was darting out the door still nattering to herself, leaving him sat on her bed with the plush toy in his lap. He sucked up his pride and reminded himself why he was there, why this was so important, and how there was really no escape at that point. He was practically half way through this trip. He could handle a few more days, even if they did include Lance McClain.  

He dropped the toy and found his jeans, finishing getting dressed before braving the big bad world.  

* * *

‘Absolutely not.’  

‘Lance, please.’  

‘You couldn’t even pay me to do it.’  

‘I’m already paying you.’  

‘If I’d known this job came with surprise terms and conditions, I wouldn’t have agreed to it.’  

‘How about you do it because I’m your friend, not your client?’  

‘How about you shove it up your quiznack?’  

Matt sighed all too loudly at his response. Lance simply huffed and turned away, looking towards the double bed that had housed them both for the past two nights. Maybe he was being a tad unreasonable, but what else did Matt expect? He had made his stance on the matter clear from day one.  

‘Keith agreed to it.’  

His ears twitched. His eyes narrowed and zoned back in on the man in front of him. ‘Excuse me?’  

Matt shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Just sayin’. Pidge already asked him, and he agreed.’  

‘Oh no. No, no-no, you can’t trick me into this, Holt.’  

‘Trick you? I’m not trying to trick you.’  

Lance growled. ‘You are! And I’m not falling for it.’  

‘Hey, that’s fine!’ Matt held up his hands in a casual surrender. ‘If your pride is more important than winning, then that’s cool. I’ll just tell Keith that-!’  

He let out a loud yell of frustration before he tore the door to the room open. He stopped short when he saw Pidge standing on the other side of the door with her fist raised as if to knock, a lead in her hand. He glared down at her blinking face and cursed the day that the Holt siblings were born. It was like they were here just to make his life difficult and ensure he actually faced his problems and flaws. Who even did that?!  

‘You.’  

She pointed to herself and raised a brow. ‘Me.’  

‘I’ll do it.’  

She glanced behind him, keeping a neutral face. ‘Thank you?’  

‘Tell your boyfriend that he better be on his best behaviour though!’ Lance argued. ‘I’m not here to mess around.’  

‘I will!’ she assured. ‘He will be the most well behaved emo kid you have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Or, re-meeting, I guess.’  

Lance swivelled on his heel and marched back to Matt, pressing their foreheads together in an intimate gesture and trying not to feel too grateful when Matt’s hands wrapped round his arms in a comforting gesture. He let out a steady breath and finally placed a soft kiss on the corner of Matt’s mouth. The man was as compliant as ever when it came to letting Lance take the lead on this.  

‘Have fun. I know sibling time is important.’  

‘Thanks, babe. Just text me if you need anything, okay?’  

‘You got it,’ he spun round with his usual cheerful façade back in place, clicking a couple of finger guns at Pidge. ‘Don’t get in trouble now, kids.’  

She rolled her eyes, but he could see the twitch of a smile on the corner of her mouth. ‘I will do my utmost to keep him in line.’  

‘Someone’s gotta.’  

He headed downstairs to see them out, laughing as Bae Bae nearly knocked Pidge off her feet at the prospect of going for a walk. Matt explained they’d be gone for a couple of hours, and that their parents were due back later that day. Lance assured them that they wouldn’t burn down the house.  

Once the front door shut and left him in silence he began to wonder exactly where the final member of their little group was. Sam and Coleen were accounted for, as were Pidge and Matt, but Pidge hadn’t actually told him where he could find her mullet wearing boyfriend.  

Lance shrugged it off and chose to sit down in front of the wide screen TV, enjoying the HD quality that he just didn’t get in his own apartment back in the city. The TV always seemed to be left on one of the Geography or History channels, and he was greeted with the sight of the ocean when he turned it on.  

Anything with the ocean in it was bound to be good.  

His peace and quiet lasted a grand total of ten minutes before the location of the final occupant of the house was revealed. Lance spared him a glance as Keith flopped down next to him on the sofa; elbows on his knees as he slouched forward and trained violet eyes on the screen in front of him. Lance didn’t dare speak out of fear that his tone took something a little too hostile. There had always been something about Keith that set him off.  

‘Thanks for helping Pidge find an outfit for the wedding.’  

Lance narrowed his eyes, but didn’t look away from the TV.  

‘I know we found her old dresses in the end, but…she doesn’t treat herself as much as she should do.’  

He stifled a groan. The honesty in Keith’s voice was almost painful. When did he get  _nice_?  

‘It was fun,’ Lance finally said. ‘She’s pretty cool. Coleen said you brought one duffle bag between you.’  

‘Yeah, we travel pretty light I guess?’  

Lance snorted. ‘I’m surprised you managed to fit a full suit in there too.’  

There was a prolonged pause.  

Lance finally turned his gaze to Keith, seeing a grimace on the man’s face. His stomach dropped. ‘You did bring a suit for yourself, didn’t you?’  

‘I don’t…own a suit,’ Keith admitted. ‘I have smart clothes, but not like, a full suit jacket or anything.’  

‘Oh my word.’  

‘Pidge said I looked fine.’  

He wanted to bash his head against the closest surface. Instead he opted to take the chance to  _win_ , like Matt had insinuated.  

‘Look, Keith,’ Lance shifted on the couch to be properly facing the other man. ‘We are the two outcasts here. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met any of Matt’s family before. This wedding on Saturday is going to be full of strangers, and not only are we two people who won’t know any of them, we’re also the only two who know each other.’  

‘For better or worse.’  

Lance ignored him. ‘We have to band together in this time. It’s just you and me. The boyfriends of the Holt siblings. As much as it pains me to admit it, we have to have each other’s backs.’  

Keith’s eyebrows lowered, but the decisive nod he gave said it all.  

‘I brought a full suit, but I probably don’t need to wear a waistcoat I guess. I mean, it looks fucking boss on me, but let’s see if it’ll fit you. You’re a little wider. We can also raid Matt’s wardrobe and see what he has in there.’  

‘Alright.’  

Lance leant forward and placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. ‘I’ve got you covered.’  

The soft smile that greeted him had a pain shoot through his heart at how adorable it was.  

‘This doesn’t make us friends!’ he snapped quickly without thinking. ‘It’s an agreement of convenience.’  

The smirk that settled on Keith’s face was much more familiar. ‘Right. Can’t get too friendly with the kid who released all the rats in the science labs. I don’t know what will turn up alive in my bed.’  

It took a while to register what he’d said in Lance’s brain. Enough time that Keith slipped from the room and started to head up the stairs.  

‘Oh you little  _shit bag you do remember_!’  

* * *

It was exactly like she remembered. Wide and vast, glittering in the sun with the clouds reflected in the pool. She unclipped Bae Bae’s leash and watched the dog begin to run off towards the water, breathing in the fresh air it provided.  

Pidge had never been a massive fan of being outdoors. The lake was about as far as she got as a kid, a half hours walk from their house, and it was all she needed. Any further and she’d worry about her signal dropping out on her phone. There was something she’d missed about it though. Or perhaps that was just her looking through memories with rose tinted glasses.  

Matt’s elbow rested on her shoulder and she looked up to see her brother staring out across the lake. Last time they were both here he still wore glasses.  

‘Hasn’t changed much, has it?’  

She scoffed. ‘It’s been what, a year? Two years max. What do you think’s gonna happen in that time?’  

‘Just an observation Pidgey! Who knows what can happen in two years. Like, you could cut off all your hair!’  

‘Maybe you could take a leaf from my book.’  

He gave an offended gasp and clutched his chest. ‘Are you saying my hair  _isn’t_ beautiful?! Allura assured me it was.’  

‘Yeah right. I bet the only one who thinks your hair is beautiful is Lance.’  

He laughed at that. ‘Lance thinks my hair is gross. Apparently if I want hair longer than a buzz-cut I have to use conditioner.’  

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Ew.’  

‘Yeah. That’s what I said.’  

‘He does seem like the kinda guy who looks after himself well.’  

‘You have no idea,’ Matt continued to walk down towards the lake. ‘What about Keith?’  

She raised a brow and followed after him. ‘What  _about_ Keith?’  

‘You know, does he look after himself well? Is he that kind of guy?’  

‘He’s the kind of guy who panics when my big brother starts to get all protective.’  

A pink flush spread across Matt’s cheeks and the laughter that bubbled forth was a little too loud. ‘What? Protective? Who is this big brother you speak of?’  

‘Don’t try to get round me, Matt. He’s nervous. He’s not used to people.’  

‘Oh come on, you’re telling me that Mr Big Bad is panicking that I’m getting protective? He could kick my ass. He’s got to know that.’  

‘He could, but he’s meant to be making a good impression. That kind of requires him to, you know, not beat you up.’  

Sometimes she could not believe this man.  

‘So how about you lay off and let me make my own decisions. Trust that I picked him to be my boyfriend, and I never make a bad choice.’  

‘I mean-!’  

‘That statement isn’t up for debate.’  

Matt sniggered. ‘Alright, fine, I’ll let it go. I trust you to make your own decisions.’  

‘Thank you! Was that so hard?’  

‘No, it wasn’t. None of us are perfect I guess.’  

She bit down on her smile and sought out Bae Bae amongst the foliage by the lake. ‘Yeah, hopefully those two won’t kill each other while we’re gone.’  

The conversation topic quickly switched to how her degree was going, and she gave an in-depth explanation of her favourite classes and the various ways she and Keith kept physics interesting. Matt was eager to launch into a rant about how physics can  _never_ be boring and if she thought that she was  _wrong_.  

She always enjoyed listening to the projects he worked on at the University he was a researcher at. He seemed to cover such a wide variety of things sometimes that it was hard to keep track of what he was even there to do.  

She mentioned Rover, the robot she was programming, and he told her about some of the communications equipment he had access to that he could share with her on the hush.  

He only made three bad jokes. She was quite proud of him.  

By the time they got back to the house three hours had passed. She felt a little guilty about ditching Keith for longer than planned once again, but this time she never got a message from him so she guessed he was either fine or burying Lance’s corpse in the back garden. They went round the back of the house so they could hose off the mud from Bae Bae’s feet, and their dad met them at the back door to let them in. He claimed he hadn’t seen their boyfriends since he got back, but he was fairly certain they were hanging out in Matt’s room.  

The idea of the pair hanging out in a closed space put her a little on edge, but she didn’t comment. There was something off about the reaction they had to each other on the first day that she definitely didn’t want her parents questioning.  

Instead she thanked her dad and began to run to Matt’s room with him close behind. The closer they got the more nerves settled in her stomach.  

They heard them before they got to the door.  

‘Stop squirming!’  

‘But it’s cold!’  

Matt and Pidge exchanged a concerned look before the smaller sibling crept forward and pushed the door open.  

They were cross legged with their knees touching on the bed, Lance holding the brush and tub for some of his facemask cream in his hands, brush poised over Keith’s face. The black haired man snapped his attention to the door with wide eyes as it opened and Pidge got a good look at her friend with a purple headband keeping his hair out his face.  

‘Is that…my headband?’  

‘It was an emergency,’ Lance supplied.  

‘Right. Why are you guys having a little spa-day together?’  

Lance glared and pointed the brush accusingly in their direction. ‘Well seeing as  _some people_ abandoned us, we decided to band together and have some quality bro time. We are the strangers in an unfamiliar place; we must work together in these dark times.’  

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smirk. ‘You are ridiculous. I can’t believe this is what you chose to do as bro time.’  

Keith flipped her the bird. ‘Don’t be jealous that your boyfriend’s going to have better skin than you for the wedding.’  

‘Yes, Keith! That’s what I’m talking about!’  

‘I’m glad to see you’re finally getting on…’ she said with a dry tone. ‘Even if it does mean you're putting...stuff all over Keith's face. What even is that? Goo?'  

Lance scoffed. 'I cannot believe you don't know what this is.'  

Matt nudged her in the side. 'Yeah, Pidge. It's pretty...goo-d.'  

She rolled her eyes at his joke while Lance groaned from his space on the bed with a "not this again". Their amused-tiredness was quickly cut short when a chuckled-snort burst forth and filled the room. They exchanged a look, Lance's mouth dropping open as Pidge's eyes widened, and turned to Keith who was biting down on his bottom lip as he tried to stop his laughter.  

It was fucking disguising. She never thought she'd describe anything he did as adorable. Yet here they were.  

'Keith gets it!' Matt announced happily. 'You got that one!'  

'I got that one,' Keith agreed.  

Her brother gave a smug look as he looked down at her. 'He didn't get my joke yesterday.'  

'I wonder why. What joke was it?'  

The smile dropped from his face and his face began to get blotchy with pinkness. She raised a brow as he laughed it off and shrugged, claiming not to remember. When she turned to Keith she noticed a similar panic on his face.  

Lance shrugged.  

'So I'm going to watch TV,' she announced to the room. 'And leave you boys to do your boy thing. Let me know when you finish with these losers, Keith.'  

'Hey! You might benefit from having one too, you know?'  

She laughed at Lance's suggestion and made quick haste out the room and away from whatever that was.  

* * *

Family dinners were always a popular in the Holt household. Going out to a nice restaurant and grabbing food, binging on appetisers until there was no room for dessert. It was one of Matt's favourite parts about visiting his family. He felt like he only got to indulge when he was visiting them. Like doing it without his little sis was some kind of crime.  

She was on the opposite side of the table, bickering playfully with Lance over the best way to eat garlic bread. He knew for a fact she was just being a shit by saying she liked it without cheese, because she always insisted on having cheesy garlic bread, but the look on his face and his passionate speech about the credibility of a good appetiser was worth it.  

Matt looked up to see Keith tearing off pieces of his own garlic bread opposite, a smile playing on his face as he watched the pair bicker. Their parents were occasionally joining in, laughing along with them at either end of the table. He could see the playful glint in his father's eyes that held the same humour Pidge had, and the way his mother scoffed and pointed and poked in response to Pidge's denials.  

Keith's violet eyes flickered to him, one thick black eyebrow twitching up in both a question and in amusement. Matt forced a smile back. Violet eyes flickered down.  

This was wrong. This was so very, very wrong.  

He forced his attention back to the conversation that was happening around him, sliding in a wicked bread pun that had the whole table both laugh and groan. He locked eyes with Lance and grinned wide as the tanned boy leant over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.  

Lance was spectacular at this. The perfect actor. It was obviously a script he'd rehearsed time and time again, and Matt just knew that if anyone was going to fuck this up, it would be him.  

It would be him because he couldn't get over the fact that Pidge's boyfriend was  _h-o-t._  

The thought made him grimace and look back down at his plate. He emphasised in his own mind that Keith was in fact Pidge's boyfriend. His little sister's boyfriend. His baby sister. He needed to control himself. He couldn't...  

He snapped his head up as he felt someone kick his shin. Keith's eyes were boring into his skull, jaw pulled tight and eyebrows pulled close together. There was a moment where Matt panicked and ran through anything he could've possibly done to make the man angry.  

_Are you okay?_  

It was easy enough to understand, but Matt couldn't help feel like he read Keith's lips wrong.  

Was that his concerned face?  

They broke eye contact for a moment as Lance cheered after pulling one end of the garlic bread he and Pidge were halving, ending up with a bigger portion. Pidge blew a raspberry across the table despite Coleen scolding her for being rude and Lance laughed it off, offering to swap pieces. The young woman lit up and was quick to accept the trade.  

He looked back to Keith and nodded as subtly as he could, not wanting to tip Lance off.  

The meal passed as it usually did. They ate and joked and asked about various family members they hadn't seen in a while and would be seeing at the wedding. Their mother gave them a long list of baby names to remember from their cousins that Matt knew for a fact he would forget.  

Lance cornered him on the way to the car, pinning him with an amused smirk but a harsh tone.  

'Did I catch you looking at another man,  _babe_?'  

'What? No. Never. Me? I'm good. Well behaved.'  

Lance pursed his lips before sighing. 'Well, at least try to control yourself to the end of the week.'  

'The end of the week? Why the end of the week?'  

'Please, I haven't seen them interact like a couple even once. I can tell Keith cares about Pidge, a lot, but dating?' He shook his head. 'I am so not convinced.'  

'Maybe they're just not that kind of couple.'  

'My intuition is never wrong.'  

Matt chuckled and wrapped an arm around Lance's waist. 'I know my sister. She'd never lie.' 

'Hey, you don't know what a few years of university can do to a girl. Just resist the urge, yeah?'  

Matt looked to the front, seeing the pair huddled together as they walked, whispering and making exaggerated hand gestures like the dumb nerds they were. There was a fondness in his heart that was followed with a guilty pang.  

'Yeah. I got you.'  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that Lance and Keith legit just sat and talked shit about old teachers they used to share.


	5. Day Four

It was the final day that their mother would be working before her weekend holiday. She made sure that she would have the Friday off so she could make sure they were all ready to go and the presents were wrapped, and it would also give her time to spend with her children before the big Family Event. 

Matt gave the world’s smallest wave as she left for work that morning, sat at the table with his dad as they shared breakfast. He’d left Lance in his room, still asleep to the world with his eye mask on and a green lion settled comfortably against his stomach. Pidge and Keith had yet to make an appearance, despite them usually being awake before he was. 

‘Lance seems nice.’ 

The statement caught him off guard. He looked across the table to where his father sat with a fond smile on his face. ‘Uh…thanks.’ 

‘He’s quite similar to you in a lot of ways. I can see why you like him.’ 

Matt shrugged it off with a smile. ‘He’s pretty great. I’m funnier.’ 

‘I’m sure you are.’ 

Silence descended across the table once again. He continued to pick at his toast, dipping his crusts in the eggs as he went. 

‘Keith is pretty nice too. Quieter, which is a refreshing change in this household.’ 

He tried not to let the surprise show on his face. ‘Yeah. Katie did well.’ 

‘She did. They seem very close; it’s nice to see her meet such wonderful people at University, even though she’s the youngest in her year. Your mother was scared that she’d find it difficult to fit in.’ 

Matt chuckled as he tried to imagine Pidge as a timid little outcast. ‘She’s always had some trouble fitting in, but…I think she stopped letting it get to her a while ago. People who go to the Garrison worked really hard to get there. I think she and everyone in her class know that.’ 

‘It’s very true.’ 

‘Besides, maybe this time it worked out in her favour,’ Matt suggested. ‘Keith kinda seems different to your average joe as well.’ 

Sam sent a wink across the table. ‘I guess that’s part of his charm, huh?’ 

Start the alarms. Evacuate. Emergency procedure in action. 

‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell Lance. You’ve always been weak for a pretty face.’ 

Matt laughed a little too loudly. 

‘Oh! Speak of the devil,’ Sam folded his paper closed on the table. ‘What a delight to see you so early, Lance!’ 

The tanned boy gave a sleepy smile and a soft wave, making his way over to Matt to place a loud kiss to the top of his head. ‘Good morning. How’s breakfast?’ 

‘Breakfast is great considering you weren’t here to steal it all.’ 

‘Hey! I do not steal all your breakfast. Just some of it.’ 

Lance had a natural talent for rolling with the punches. Matt would occasionally make a joke in regards to things his past ex’s would do, and Lance would take hold instantly as though it was a common occurrence. It was no wonder that he got paid to do this kind of thing. There were some moments where he’d got Matt fooled that they were actually dating. 

‘I’ll be heading to the club later to see some friends. I was wondering if you kids wanted to come with me. The crazy golf range is still there that I used to take you and Katie to.’ 

Lance lit up at that. ‘Crazy golf? Seriously?’ 

‘It’s a Holt favourite.’ 

‘I haven’t played Crazy golf in  _years_ ,’ he stressed as his bright blue eyes turned to Matt. ‘Can we?’ 

‘Sure, I don’t see why not. Could be fun. We can whoop Pidge and Keith’s asses.’ 

‘Yes!’ Lance threw a fist in the air. ‘You are going  _down_ , Kogane!’ 

‘I thought you guys bonded?’ 

‘I can still be competitive, don’t judge me.’ 

Sam cleared his throat and stood. ‘I’ll go see if I can wake the other two up. They’ve slept in a little later than usual. We’ll probably head to the club in the next hour.@

Once he’d gone and Lance sat down at the table next to Matt, the elder of the two couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy at the idea of the four of them spending prolonged time playing competitive sports. He wasn’t sure if it was Lance’s overly competitive nature, how that might clash with Pidge’s admittedly sometimes immature nature. 

How the two of them, both intelligent and observant respectively, might catch him out saying something he shouldn’t. 

‘What’s up buttercup?’

Matt grimaced. ‘Eugh, that one was nasty.’

‘You’re nasty. Answer the question.’

‘It’s nothing, really. I just…I guess I feel kinda bad. That I’m…’

Lance nodded and waved his hands to get Matt to stop talking. One of his biggest rules was that they weren’t allowed to verbally acknowledge their secret within the house, in case someone was listening in. ‘That’s pretty normal, man. Like I said at the beginning, if at any point you want to, you can tell them.’

‘I know, but two days before the wedding? Mom would kill me.’

‘Probably.’ 

‘Maybe I should just tell Pidge…’ 

Lance shot him a disapproving look. ‘Remember what I said? The more people who know, the less concrete.’

Matt groaned at the reminder. 

‘You can tell her when it’s all over and we’re back home. She’d probably get a good kick from it.’ 

‘That’s true.’ 

‘Then she can tell you about how she did the exact same thing and you’ll both laugh and it’ll be a fond memory.’ 

Matt rolled his eyes. ‘I can’t believe you’re still on that.’ 

‘Say what you will, Holt, but my eyes do not deceive me.’ 

By the time Sam got back downstairs Lance had finished up his meal and was helping wash up some plates, Pidge and Keith following behind at a slower pace. The tired bags under their eyes suggested that they really had slept in compared to the other days they’d been there. 

Sam explained how he’d found them asleep on the floor in a huddle with Pidge’s laptop dead in front of them, controllers linked up to it. She defended herself by pointing out how early they got up every other day just to walk the dog, and they were allowed to slack off just once. Mr Holt laughed it off and requested they at least didn’t stay up gaming on the night before the wedding. 

Keith slumped down at the table and began shovelling food into his face, not acknowledging anyone else in the room. Matt felt Lance tense up next to him, looking up to see the blue eyes send Keith a nasty look before focusing on the dishes once again. The fickleness of his fake boyfriend was terrifying. 

Matt poured coffee from the machine into a mug, placing it down on the table next to Keith with what he hoped was a warm smile. ‘Here. This should wake you up.’ 

Keith looked like he’d been caught stealing, with those wide eyes and tense body ready to bolt at any second. ‘Uh, thanks.’ 

‘So, crazy golf?’ 

‘I’ve never played crazy golf before.’ 

‘What?! Never?’ 

Keith shook his head. A man of many words. 

‘I guess today’s our lucky day then! If there’s anyone you want to learn from, it’s the best of the best.’ 

A smirk danced across the pale lips. ‘More people are joining us then?’ 

It took Matt a second to put that one together, and when he did he scowled and poked a finger into Keith’s arm a good five times. ‘Hey! It’s me! I’m the best!’ 

‘I guess I’ll believe it when I see it.’ 

‘You will! I’ll  _swing_ your opinion in my favour.’ 

He left the comment settle. The confusion quickly dissolved into a muffled chuckle. 

Lance swatted him round the back of the head. ‘That was awful, you can do better, and I’m going to get ready.’ 

The wide grin across Keith’s face made it worth it. 

* * *

Pidge wasn’t an idiot. She had her moments of dimness, the same as everyone else, but she was not an idiot. She didn’t get into a prestigious college a year early for nothing. She didn’t pick Keith Kogane as he fake boyfriend out of a flimsy whim. It wasn’t a superficial decision of “he’s pretty hot, I’d like to be seen with him”. She planned and thought it out, like she did everything. 

This week left her reeling a little. There was only so far she could plan before someone would throw a spanner in the works, and she  _hated_ spanners. Metaphorical ones that was. Real ones were pretty handy and she would say she liked them. 

She tried not to jump out her skin whenever Keith would stand a little too close and put a hand on her lower back. It wasn’t contact she was used to having, especially not from her favourite moody classmate. His brows would pull together and she’d notice the way his eyes flickered to Lance and Matt, his actions echoing theirs. 

This was why she picked Keith. 

She also picked him because he was a lot more impulsive than she was, and when they wound up at the club her dad frequented and reintroduced her to men she couldn’t remember, and she was too busy sat figuring out in her mind what she was meant to say in regards to Keith to express to strangers that they were dating so that they would then go on and believe it without question when her father would sit with them for the next three hours. Keith cut in before she had a chance to pause for too long. 

 _Katie’s boyfriend_ , he introduced himself as.  _Keith, Katie’s boyfriend_. 

It was simple, straightforward, and no suspicious like a lengthy explanation she might’ve ended up giving. 

They made a joke about the similarity of their names and Keith gave a tight smile through the pain of being surrounded by people he didn’t know. Lance cut through them both and dragged them towards the crazy golf, his introductions already done. 

She breathed a sigh of relief from the freedom and approached the booth they could collect their clubs and balls from, pleased that Lance and Matt were too busy making noise at each other to pay attention to her. 

‘Sorry that I…panic sometimes?’ 

Keith shrugged it off. ‘No worries. I guess you’re not infallible all the time.’ 

She snorted. ‘You ready to get your ass kicked at crazy golf?’ 

‘I thought we were on teams?’ 

‘Yeah, we are,’ a malicious grin spread across her face and she turned to the pair in front. ‘Hey Matt!’ 

He snapped his head round with big brown eyes. 

‘Team Holt?’ 

A grin lit up his face. ‘Team Holt!’ 

‘Hey!’ Lance protested. ‘You can’t abandon me with Keith!’ 

‘Whatever happened to you two being you against the world?’ Pidge asked with a teasing tilt to her voice. ‘Two outcasts in a pack of strangers?’ 

‘Matt there’s a correct decision to make here and it’s not to leave me.’ 

She laughed. ‘Matt’s already said yes. No take back-sies.’ 

Lance huffed loudly and looped an arm across Keith’s shoulders. ‘Fine! I hope you’re ready for us to wipe the floor with you.’ 

‘No need to waste energy getting ready for impossibilities.’ 

Keith was the first one to point out that golf didn’t seem like a team game, so much as every man for themselves. Lance responded with a dramatic speech about being abandoned by a second evil man that had Keith agreeing to the team formation just to get him to shut up. 

Pidge and Matt let the pair bicker as they collected the putting clubs and balls, going through the usual information on what they were and were not allowed to do. It was a line she’d heard a million times before, and as soon as the man working there stopped talking she was half way to the first hole with the three boys close on her tail. 

Unfortunately, as she’d mentioned, she liked plans, and didn’t like having them messed with. There was one person in particular who’d been good at messing up her plans when they were kids under the guise of “character development”, and it was the same man who would make her question the worth of the entire week. 

It was fine, at first. Matt cracked his usual jokes to try and throw the enemy off their game, and succeeded on a couple of occasions. Lance was ridiculously competitive, which Matt theorised came from being the youngest in a big family, and the tanned man would curse at any shot that didn’t go the way he wanted. He was admittedly pretty decent at it. 

Pidge sneered at Keith, telling him that this was a game about angles and maths, so she finally had a sport she would be better than him at. It was a mistake. He then linked it in his brain with pool, which he was  _obscenely_ good at, and began to take a similar approach with crazy golf. 

Which was  _crazy_ , because the point of this game was that it was nonsensical. Sometimes. 

Matt’s jokes continued, but not the same way. Instead of making them loudly while Lance or Keith were trying to take a shot, he would whisper them to whoever was waiting next to him as the others continued to play. 

More often than not, the person subjected to this was Keith. 

Pidge narrowed her eyes at the scene in front of her as Matt cracked another dumb joke for Keith. ‘Hang on a sec,’ she muttered to Lance who was waiting for her to line up her shot. ‘Is your boyfriend flirting with my boyfriend?’ 

He snorted. ‘Come on, you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. You cannot tell me you don’t know your boyfriend’s gay.’ 

‘There are a million things that need addressing in that statement, one being a big fat  _no_ , but regardless of my boyfriend it’s  _your_  boyfriend who’s doing the flirting.’ 

‘I don’t think he’s flirting. I think he’s just happy he’s finally found someone who’ll laugh at his dumbass jokes.’ 

‘He does have an awful sense of humour.’ 

‘I like a witty pun just as much as the next guy but Matt really putts the boat out.’ 

She gave Lance a withering look. ‘Did you seriously just say that?’ 

He gave her a solid elbow to the back. ‘Take your shot, Holt. Stop trying to delay your inevitable loss.’ 

‘I’m  _winning_.’ 

‘Not for long!’ Lance declared. ‘Keith, stop fraternizing with the enemy and get over here! I need to talk strategies with you!’ 

The dark haired boy was quick to move, allowing Lance to drag him off to the side and whisper a thousand things into his ear. Pidge took the chance of silence to take her shot, pleased when the ball bounced against the right walls and over the mound, only just missing the hole. She could get this in two. 

Matt joined her as she took the second shot. ‘They’re totally trying to psyche us out.’ 

‘Judging from the look on your face? They’re succeeding.’ 

‘We should make a game plan. Sabotage.’ 

‘You want to sabotage your own  _boyfriend_?’ 

Matt adopted a particularly serious expression, clasping his fist close to his face and sucking in a deep, dramatic breath. ‘If taking Lance down is what I need to do to survive, than I guess that’s just how it’s gotta be.’ 

‘You’re ridiculous. You’re  _both_ ridiculous.’ 

She watched Matt closely as the game continued. She noticed how he gravitated towards Keith, and how her boyfriend would happily laugh and shove back as they bantered between themselves. Occasionally Lance would whine and pull Matt’s attention back to him, or coerce Keith into some dumb idea or to help him with a shot, but Pidge noticed the way his blue eyes would linger on her as though he was waiting for something. 

He was watching her watch Matt, and it all smelt a little too suspicious. 

The Holt siblings won, by a minor margin, because Keith botched the last hole, which lead to an argument between him and Lance. She was quick to intervene, linking her arm with Keith’s and dragging her boyfriend over to grab an ice-cream before they went to find her father. 

She dropped a couple of hints to Matt being weird, but Keith didn’t seem to bite. She supposed for him he’s never seen a different side of Matt. 

She was going to have to do some digging. 

* * *

Furious didn’t even begin to cover it. Lance couldn’t find the right word to pinpoint the exact emotion he was feeling. It was angrier than disappointment, but more sympathetic than blind rage. Perhaps that was just the money drive he felt, knowing that if Pidge managed to successfully catch them out it would change the amount Matt technically owed him. 

But it wouldn’t be his fault if she caught them. Matt was the one being a  _fucking moron_. 

He pulled Matt’s hand to keep him back as Pidge and Keith ran off to get ice-cream and suggested the pair of them took a walk. 

‘I feel like we haven’t spent any time just us,’ Lance explained. ‘Not besides sleeping and breakfast.’ 

Matt relented, though there was an edge to his smile that Lance did not miss. 

They walked hand in hand round the golf course, watching as kids tried to get their ball through the mouth of the skull, or into the tiny door of the windmill. That one they’d had to give up on, because Pidge had refused to go any other way than through the windmill. Keith had huffed away at her stubbornness, picked up the ball, and dropped it in the hole himself. 

‘So…why do I feel like I’m in trouble?’ 

Lance glared. ‘Because you are.’ 

‘What have I possibly done that means I’m in trouble.’ 

The Cuban pulled them to a stop, finally letting go of his boyfriend’s hand and sitting down on the bench to the left. Matt stood next to him with his hands stuffed in his pockets, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Lance might’ve found it adorable if it wasn’t so damn annoying. 

‘Matt,’ Lance gripped his temples as he spoke, sucking in a big breath to get the appropriate amount of dramatic tension built for his announcement. ‘I need you to listen to me very carefully.’ 

‘Uh…okay?’ 

Lance clasped his hands together and pointed the tips of his fingers at his boyfriend. ‘You’ve been doing a great job so far of pretending we’re dating, but there’s something you need to stop doing if you want to keep it up.’ 

A steady flush began developing on the brunette’s face. 

‘Please stop flirting with Keith in front of your sister.’ 

‘I-wha-how could-I am  _not_ -?!’ 

‘I get it, honestly, I do. That’s a lie I don’t I think you’re crazy for wanting to flirt with someone who has a mullet in this day and age, but your sense of style has never been that great so I’m not going to judge. Much.’ 

‘I hate you sometimes.’ 

‘But she’s getting suspicious, and you have to control yourself. At least until after all this has finished.’ 

Matt huffed and slumped down on the chair next to Lance. ‘Is she really getting suspicious?’ 

‘She just straight up asked me today if you were flirting with him.’ 

‘I wasn’t-?!’ 

‘You totally were don’t lie to me.’ 

He huffed out again. 

‘If it makes you feel better, I think he was digging it.’ 

‘That doesn’t make me feel better!’ Matt threw his hands in the air. ‘You’re suggesting that my sister’s  _boyfriend_ wants me to flirt with him!’

‘Gay.’ 

‘I-he’s really kinda cool. And funny, in his own way. And sure maybe he looks a little intimidating at first but he’s really not that bad…I don’t want to think that he’s just using my sister.’ 

Lance sucked in a breath and mentally reminded himself that this was why he didn’t work with friends. He pressed a hand to Matt’s back and rubbed through the fleecy hoody he wore, attempting to show some kind of solidarity. ‘I don’t think he’s being malicious. I don’t think you even realise you’re doing it, but…’ 

‘…But we are.’ 

‘Two more days, then you’ll be free.’ 

Matt sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair. ‘Right. Two more days.’ 

Their time was up. Lance could see Mr Holt leaving the coffee shop he’d spent the past three hours in, greeting Pidge and Keith with a wide smile and a laugh. After a few more moments to think Matt finally stood, offering Lance his hand. 

‘Two more days.’ 

Lance nodded and gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile. They were over half way. They could finish this thing together. 

* * *

Dinner was tougher than usual. 

Lance spoke more than usual, which Keith noticed was to cover the silences that Matt left with his lack of conversation. Whenever he managed to catch the older sibling’s eyes, Matt shot his gaze downwards with a scowl before Keith could check he was alright. It was driving him mad. 

Pidge wasn’t that much better. She was a subtle woman when she wanted to be, and no one else seemed to notice, but he could see that inquisitive look in her eyes that he’d seen in so many classes, right before she attempt to correct a Professor. Like she was waiting for someone to slip up so she could pounce, and that gaze was focused solely on Lance and Matt. 

Thankfully the tanned boy was unperturbed. Keith did his best to keep the conversation going, telling the parents about his first time playing crazy golf, and even letting Lance rib him more than usual.

‘I’m so glad you’ve had such a good day!’ Colleen gushed as Keith finished up his story from the windmill hole. ‘Hopefully we’ll find something just as entertaining for you tomorrow.’ 

Keith nodded in agreement. ‘I’m sure you will.’ 

‘I was thinking of perhaps going to the cinema, and then maybe bowling? We’ll have to see what’s on of course, but it’s an easy one.’ 

Lance grinned wide. ‘It’ll give us a second chance to beat the Holt siblings, right?’ 

Keith matched the smile. ‘Right.’ 

Matt and Pidge were quiet. 

Sam cleared his throat and suggested they move to the living room for more comfortable seats, and as usual Keith was the first to offer to do the washing up. A different documentary every night was beginning to take it’s toll on his tired brain, and any break was a good break. Lance joined him in clearing the plates and let the children herd their parents into the living room with some protest at leaving the guests to clean. 

Lance broached the subject as soon as they were all gone. ‘Pidge seems weird.’ 

‘So does Matt,’ Keith agreed. ‘What happened?’ 

Lance scoffed. ‘Beats me. Matt has his moments like this sometimes. As someone who requires someone with equal energy to me, it can be…hard.’ 

Keith bit down on his lip, unsure what to respond with. 

‘Sorry, I don’t mean to…well, hopefully whatever’s eating them will work itself out soon. Maybe they had a sibling dispute or something. I just couldn’t stand that suffocating atmosphere anymore.’ 

He hummed in agreement. 

‘How’re you doing?’ 

‘Fine,’ Keith nodded. ‘I’m getting there. I’m not used to…family atmospheres.’ 

‘I remember.’ 

Sometimes Keith forgot how well Lance already knew him, or at least things around him. It was no secret at school that Keith lacked a real, stable family. 

‘But the Holt’s are pretty cool. You’re doing well.’ 

‘How’ve you found it?’ 

‘Same old same,’ Lance shrugged it off with a fond smile. ‘I have a big family, so this is quiet to me. The wedding’s gonna be fun. I love big events.’ 

‘Why am I not surprised?’ 

‘But if you ever need a break let me know, and I’ll try give you a hand.’ 

‘Thanks. Same for you, I don’t know how much help I’d be, but-!’ 

‘Thanks, man. I appreciate it.’ 

Keith let the silence settle over them, though Lance made no attempt to break it himself. They finished off the dishes with nothing but each other’s company, before they went through to the living room to see a documentary about Pompeii on the screen. They exchanged a look and Lance rolled his eyes before he moved to find a spare spot to sit in. 

Pidge offered up her chair when Keith arrived, but he shook his head and sat on the floor in front of her. After a few moments he felt her hands running through his hair, petting it in a comforting manner. 

It nearly put him to sleep. 

The evening quietened down from there until they began to trickle off to their respective rooms, Sam making a joke about Keith and Pidge getting an early night after their gaming marathon. He even offered to carry her upstairs as they stood and went to get ready, but got a deadly glare in return. 

He settled down on the small bed next to her, staring up at the old glow stickers on the ceiling as he tried to decide what he should say, hearing her checking her phone and shuffling around as she got ready. 

‘Is Matt okay?’ he finally blurted out. ‘He seemed really off at the table.’ 

‘He’s probably fine,’ she brushed it off with little concern and settled beneath her covers. ‘He’s a weird one. Maybe he and Lance had a lovers spat or something while we were getting ice-cream. They pulled some low blows against each other playing golf.’ 

He acknowledged her suggestion, but didn’t agree. 

‘What are you worried about anyway?’ 

It was an innocent question, but he remembered those inquisitive eyes from dinner and it put him on edge. ‘Just curious. He’s pretty cool I guess.’ 

‘Pretty cool, huh? I want you to know I’ve never met anyone with an equally awful sense of humour to him.’ 

‘Shiro makes similar jokes sometimes, he calls them his dad jokes. I guess I got used to them.’ 

‘You laughed when he made a joke about milling around at the windmill.’ 

‘It was funny!’ 

She scoffed. ‘Whatever you say. Don’t let me stop you enjoying his awful sense of humour.’ 

‘He’s not that bad. It’s kind of sweet.’ 

He wasn’t sure what it was exactly that tipped her off. It could’ve been his word choice, or maybe it was his tone of voice, or the pout he could feel on his face. Maybe it was just a build up of everything and the way he’d acted throughout the day. 

Maybe she could hear his heartbeat stammering in his chest. 

Pidge gasped loud and scrambled to look over the edge of her bed down at Keith. ‘You have a  _crush_ on  _Matt_!’ 

He lit up like a firework. ‘That is not true at all! Also keep your voice down!’ 

‘Why, are you scared he’s going to hear?!’ 

‘Yes!’ he swatted at her with a pillow. ‘I’m scared he’s going to hear you accusing me of something that’s not true!’ 

‘I can’t believe I didn’t see it before! You even admitted he was attractive!’ 

‘There’s nothing  _to see_.’ 

She ignored him. ‘My best friend has a crush on my brother. That’s cute. But also really fucking gross.’ 

‘I’m your best friend?’ 

She looked down with wide eyes. ‘Uh, yeah? Is-I mean, you don’t have to be, if you don’t want to, but-!’ 

‘No!’ he cut her off in a rush. ‘That’s not what I meant. I just-I didn’t realise. That you…’ 

 _Liked me enough_. 

Her surprise melted into a fond smile and she flopped back down on the bed. ‘You’re pretty cool, Kogane. Even if you have awful taste in boys.’ 

‘Thanks. I guess.’ 

A hand flopped over the edge of the bed and he smirked, reaching up to squeeze the fingers that squeezed back. 

‘I’m…I’m really glad you’re here with me. I know that it doesn’t seem like it’s been much, with my parents, they’re not really…they’re good people. I don’t want you thinking bad of my family just because I wanted to get a fake boyfriend to shut them up.’ 

‘I don’t.’ 

‘And whatever happens this weekend…I do appreciate you being here. Not just agreeing to this whole thing. But it’s nice to have someone other than my brother who I can talk to.’ 

‘Careful, Pidge. It almost sounds like you feel bad about this whole ordeal.’ 

‘Shut up! I’m having a moment.’ 

He clamped his mouth shut. 

‘We should get to sleep. Night time does funny things to my brain.’ 

‘Sure thing, Pidge,’ he let his hand fall to the bed and watched as her slender fingers disappeared. ‘Good night.’ 

‘Night. See you in the morning.’ 

The long day and lack of sleep finally caught up with him, and Keith was out like a light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like 
> 
> I'm gonna be honest here 
> 
> I hate everything about my writing for this story??? I feel like I've given it half of what the idea could potentially be and I love the concept and I feel like I've really let it down. I'm gonna power through and give the last two days, but then once I've finished it I might like...rewrite it all and just make it BETTER, because I feel like I owe it to you guys.


	6. Day Five

Pidge made a very firm decision as she approached Matt’s room that morning. She had spent the night researching, and what she lacked on sleep she had gained in knowledge. It left her feeling a little hysterical, but at least she had a plan in mind now. 

She knocked on the door to his room softly before opening it and shutting it quickly. The object of her suffering stood in front of Matt’s floor length mirror that their mother insisted each of them had, messing about with his hair. Probably styling it or something daft. He noticed her and jumped out his skin, pulling a face through the reflection at her. 

‘We need to talk.’ 

His amusing horror quickly shifted into a curious poker-face that she never thought he’d be able to possess. He spun on his heel and raised a brow, gesturing for her to take a seat on the bed. She did so, her brown eyes never leaving his face. 

There was a pang of guilt in her chest as she summoned the words she wanted to say. Sat in her brother’s room, her best friend growing up, confession a secret to his “ _boyfriend_ ”instead of him. She just had to remind herself that it would be worth it in the long run. That whatever was going on with Matt and Keith needed dealing with. 

‘He’s not my real boyfriend.’ 

She wasn’t surprised by his response. Lance clasped a hand over his heart and dropped his jaw, sarcasm dripping off his every word. ‘He’s  _not_?! Oh my  _goodness_ I am so  _shocked_ and-!’ 

She held up a hand to stop him. ‘Shut. He’s not my boyfriend, but I did a background check and I have a feeling you’re not Matt’s boyfriend either.’ 

‘I’ve been rumbled by the tiny gremlin.’ 

‘Stop calling me a gremlin,’ she raised a brow at him. ‘So you admit it?’ 

‘Is there any point in denying it?’ Lance questioned. ‘You caught me out. Congratulations. Damn, I’m going to have to knock that off the pay cheque.’ 

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘So my brother hired a prost-!’ 

‘Ah-ba-bap! Stop. Right there. I know what you’re about to say, and I’d just like to clarify that the term is  _escort_. I accompany people places so they don’t have to go alone.’ 

She flushed with shame and bit down on her lip. ‘Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.’ 

‘It’s fine. I’ve been called worse. But back to the question: sort of. I mean yeah he did hire me but I’ve known Matt for some time. He’s a researcher at the University I attend so we kind of met through that.’ 

‘That makes sense. I wasn’t sure where he’d get the idea to get a professional.’ 

Lance raised a brow at the woman. ‘So why are you doing background checks on me?’ 

‘I know you said you thought Matt wasn’t flirting with Keith, but after I spoke to you about it I thought it was weird that he would. I know my brother, and I know he’s not a cheat. So I thought maybe there was another explanation for it. The fact that Keith agreed to be my boyfriend for the week is what gave me the idea, so I thought I’d do some digging and find out if there was any truth in my theory.’ 

‘You’re pretty talented, huh?’

She smirked up at him. ‘I suppose you could say that.’ 

‘Is that what you came in here for?’ he asked, raising a perfectly arched brow at her. ‘To rub it in my face that you figured it out?’ 

‘No,’ she bit down on her lip and kicked her feet that barely brushed against the floor. ‘I was…I was hoping you’d help me with something.’ 

‘What is it?’ 

She hesitated as she tried to put it into words. ‘So, do you really think Matt wasn’t flirting with Keith or-?’ 

‘He totally was,’ Lance scoffed. ‘Please, that boy? He’s freaking out because he’s terrified that he’s hitting on his sister’s boyfriend, no matter how many times I tell him he’s using you as a beard. Which apparently just makes it worse.’ 

‘Yeah I can see why that would make it worse.’ 

He rolled his eyes. 

‘But that’s good, because I’m like, ninety six percent sure that Keith likes Matt.’ 

‘Only ninety six? What about that last four percent?’ 

‘Always leave a margin of error.’ 

‘Why are you telling me this?’ 

‘I asked Keith to come with me because mom kind of pressured the whole boyfriend front a little too hard, and I’m assuming that she did the same thing to Matt, which explains you?’ 

‘Yeah, that’s true.’ 

‘So all we need to do to fix this is…switch?’ 

He raised a brow. 

‘That way she has no reason to complain. We both still have dates to this dumb wedding.’ 

‘Okay first of all? I thought you were smart. You can’t just change the agreement half way through, how would you explain it to your mother?’ 

Maybe she did need more sleep. 

‘Second of all, weddings aren’t  _dumb_. I happen to love weddings.’ 

‘Of course you do.’ 

‘Any excuse for a party is a good excuse.’ 

‘Okay so never mind that, but at the very least we need to…I dunno, push them at each other. Maybe we should just tell them? Get it in the open?’ 

‘Matt will not be able to keep his hands off your boyfriend as soon as he finds out it’s not real.’ 

Her brother did lack impulse control when it came to a pretty face. 

‘And while as a friend that seems like the best option, I do have to think about my job here.’ 

A twinge in her heart caused her to narrow her eyes at the tanned man. She understood that sentiment, she really did, but it didn’t mean she was particularly happy about it. 

‘I think the best thing to do is continue as normal until this whole thing is finished, then you can try set them up, after we’ve all had our dramatic breakups. Your parents never have to know, you can explain the whole ordeal to Matt, and then set them up on a date together and no one loses.’ 

‘Especially not you?’ 

‘That is not what I mean,’ Lance snapped. ‘I have to think about my job because it’s my livelihood, I can’t just throw that into the fire to get Matt some tail, alright? Not when there’s a better option for everyone.’ 

‘Fine, yes, that makes sense.’ 

‘Do me a favour and keep this to yourself,’ Lance muttered. ‘Don’t tell Keith. This is a need to know basis, and if Matt’s not being told, neither should Keith.’ 

‘But-?!’ 

‘I mean it, Pidge. Zip it.’ 

She scowled further, but nodded her head in acceptance. Despite knowing that the last thing she needed was more lies amongst these people who were apparently closest to her. 

‘Why didn’t he tell me?’ 

Her voice was quieter than she intended. Lance scowled and looked away, running a hand through his hair. ‘It’s part of the contract. In order to best convince people we’re a couple, I don’t like anyone knowing the arrangement. I built up a list of ground rules to make sure I can do my job properly.’ 

‘You have…rules? For fake-dating?’ 

‘People have rules for all kind of dating,’ Lance moved to flip down next to her on the bed. ‘But if you want to actually convince a close family member the guy you’re with is actually your boyfriend? You gotta go all out.’ 

Pidge scrunched her nose up. Maybe she hadn’t been as thorough in planning all this as she thought she had been. 

‘Like, it’s pretty obvious you and Keith aren’t physically intimate.’ 

‘I’m visiting my  _parents_!’ 

He rolled his eyes. ‘You’re also in  _college_ , together, two fully grown adults, and act more like friends than lovers. A little flirting never harmed anyone.’ 

‘I beg to differ.’ 

‘Okay a little flirting between you and Keith isn’t going to hurt. It’s going to make it better, if anything.’ 

She tried to imagine flirting with her best friend, the kind of face she might have to pull or what words she could say. She imagined breaking up half way through and giggling at any embarrassment he might have painted on his face. 

‘You do know how to flirt, right?’ 

‘Yes!’ she narrowed her eyes. ‘Maybe.’ 

‘It’s just, you’ve got this whole… _never had a boyfriend_ before thing going on, so…’ 

‘I have had a boyfriend before.’ 

He smirked down at her. ‘Oh? Tell me about him.’ 

‘He was called Rover.’ 

‘Rover? You sure he wasn’t a dog?’ 

She scoffed. ‘No, he was a robot. Very responsive and capable, we made him in our robotics club and I loved Rover to pieces.’ 

‘What about flesh and blood?’ 

She shrugged. ‘I mean, I’ve been on dates, but…’ 

He raised a brow. She licked her lips. 

‘No one really captures my attention. I have things to do, stuff to make. Boys want time, and attention, and…cuddles or whatever.’ 

Lance scoffed. ‘Clearly you just haven’t had any good dates.’ 

‘What do you know about good dates?’ 

‘I go on dates all the time,’ he pointed out. ‘I know a good date from a bad date. If they’re not doing something you both wanna do, it’s not worth your time.’ 

‘So how would you take me on a good date?’ 

He smirked and flicked at his hair. ‘Girl, I wouldn’t take you on a good date. I’d take you on a  _great_ date.’ 

She pursed her lips to keep in her laughter. 

‘But you have more pressing issues to deal with, like how we’re spending all day round your family today and tomorrow, so you’re gonna need to flirt with your gay boyfriend.’ 

‘What, you’re going to teach me?’ 

He winked down at her and nudged her side. ‘You’ll be learning from the best.’ 

She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. ‘Uhuh. And you think you can just teach me how in what? Five minutes?’ 

‘Flirting’s  _easy_. You just gotta pick a line and,’ Lance slid an arm towards her, leaning all his weight on it and waggling his brows at the girl. ‘Hey girl, are those space pants? Because your butt is out of this world.’ 

She gave him a deadpan look. ‘Actually, they’re baseball pants. Because this butt is out of your league.’ 

Lance grasped his chest as though he’d been shot through the heart. ‘Pidge! Ouch! The burn!’ 

‘Flirting’s dreadful, got it.’ 

‘No wonder the only guy you could get was gay.’ 

‘I’m sorry that my standards are “not an annoying boy”, which most potential real boyfriends seem to be.’ 

‘I’m offended. Mortally so. I don’t know how I’ll go on.’ 

She smirked. ‘I’m sure you’ll find a way. Climb the leagues.’ 

‘See, now that’s flirting.’ 

She bit down on her lip, smile breaking across her face as she tried to copy his position, leaning her weight towards him and looking up through her glasses. Her shoulder brushed against his arm as she got in close before speaking. ‘I’m sure if I can handle advanced coding techniques I can handle a bit of flirting.’ 

‘Advanced coding techniques, huh?’ he reached a hand up and brushed it along the edge of her fringe, his eyes following his fingers and missing the way her eyes widened at the contact. ‘Any other advanced techniques I should know about?’ 

That was 

One hell of a question. 

How did he turn what she said against her so easily like that when-?! 

‘Hey, Lance, have you see-?!’ 

Pidge vaulted off the bed, bashing her shoulder against Lance’s jaw in the process. She stood facing the door, seeing her near mirror image standing there, his eyes flickering between her and the boy on the bed. She tried to keep her breathing under control, feeling her chest rise and fall with heavy breaths and her face gradually heating up. 

She had to keep her cool. Keep her façade. 

‘-my phone. Pidge. Welcome to my room.’ 

‘Hi Matt!’ she squeaked out, with a grin she hoped wasn’t too maniacal. ‘I was just leaving. You seen Keith?’ 

‘Yeah,’ he drawled. ‘He’s downstairs with dad.’

‘Great! Fab. Excellent. Later!’ 

She bolted under Matt’s arm and rushed to her own room, completely ignoring her get out excuse of finding her boyfriend. 

She so  _definitely_ hadn’t got enough sleep last night. 

* * *

Lance stared at his friend once Pidge left the room, waiting in silence for something to happen. He painted his best “what you lookin’ at?” look on his face as Matt shut the door and trapped them both in the room together. He was going to have to come up with something good to get out of this one. Something real good. 

‘You were flirting with my sister.’ 

Shit hit the fan. 

‘I was not!’ Lance defended with a huff. ‘I would  _never_!’ 

‘You totally were!’ Matt pointed a finger. ‘You hypocritical little shit!’ 

‘I was just being myself, I’m sorry if  _myself_ is too much for you to handle.’ 

‘You are always too much to handle.’ 

Lance gave a dramatic gasp and grasped the closest pillow, lobbing it across the room. Matt fumbled as he caught it before racing over to where Lance sat, throwing himself pillow-first at the tanned boy. Lance shrieked as he fell back and raised his hands for the onslaught. 

‘I can’t believe you!’ Matt stage-whispered. ‘You have broken my trust! I let you into my home on the day of my cousin’s wedding and this is how you repay me?!’ 

‘That’s tomorrow!’ 

‘Don’t nitpick at me, McClain!’ 

‘Don’t give me shitty lines then, Holt!’ 

He managed to toss Matt off him, quick to climb on top to get some sense of pride back. ‘I promise you, I was not flirting with your sister. She asked me for advice on Keith.’ 

‘Oh, Keith!’ Matt’s face fell. ‘You’ve not only defiled my baby sister, you’ve betrayed her boyfriend!’ 

Lance was ready to start foaming at the mouth. ‘Are you listening to me?! She asked for advice, I wasn’t hitting on her! She wants to get closer to him but wasn’t sure exactly what to do.’ 

‘Why would she go to you for that?’ 

‘Because I am the love guru,  _obviously_.’ 

‘Wow, that poor misguided child.’ 

Lance huffed out, glaring down. 

‘Fine, let’s say I believe you that you were helping Pidge with-with Keith,’ he didn’t miss the voice break. ‘You didn’t need to get all up close and personal like that. A brother could get confused.’ 

He sighed out, finally relenting and leaning back on his ankles as he towered over Matt. ‘Seriously, Pidge is not my type.’ 

‘What are you saying? Is my sister not good enough for you? I’ll have you know she’s wonderful.’ 

Lance grasped at the air. ‘What do you want from me?! I’m trying to be professional here!’ 

‘It’s not all about work,  _Lance_.’ 

‘You hired me!’ he hissed out. ‘You. You hired me. That was you. You did that!’ 

‘I know!’ Matt snapped back. ‘And I’m very confused and frustrated right now!’ 

There was padding of feet around the hallway before the soothing voice of Mrs Holt echoed through the house towards them, finally silencing their hushed arguing. ‘Boys! Get ready, we’re going to head off soon!’ 

‘Alright, mom! We’re on our way!’ 

The footsteps faded and Lance flopped down on the bed beside Matt, expelling a huff of air as he did so. 

‘Fine,’ Matt muttered. ‘You win this round.’ 

‘So you believe me?’ 

‘I believe you.’ 

‘Good.’ 

Lance pushed himself up, seeing himself in the mirror opposite the bed. He groaned at the mused hair and scurried over as he attempted to pat it down and regain control of it after their spat, not wanting to face the day looking like a scruff. 

‘You look fine,’ Matt assured, coming up behind him and placing his hands on Lance’s waist. ‘You’ve got nothing to worry about.’ 

‘You would say that,’ Lance scoffed, turning in Matt’s arms. ‘Ready to go?’ 

‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’ 

Once they stepped out the room Lance thanked the heavens that he’d got through the morning mostly unscathed. He dreaded to think what the rest of the day held for him. 

Hopefully Keith wouldn’t pounce on him with new information that he didn’t want to know. If there was one thing he wanted to count on Keith Kogane for it was being ignored or having a one sided conversation. 

* * *

He was freaking out. Which kind of seemed to be a pretty standard thing for this week and generally dealing with families, but it didn’t change the fact that it was happening. This was the first time they were doing an activity together. Spending a full day in the company of the whole family. 

It was too much pressure. Keith kinda felt like he might vomit at any moment. 

Pidge arrived in the living room with flushed cheeks and a guilty smile, and he decided that he didn’t want to know. Instead he smiled and patted the space next to him, pleased when she settled down on the couch. 

When she leant into him and snuggled up close he was a little lost in what to do. They hadn’t  _snuggled_ since arriving. It was a new development. He did his best to act as naturally as possible, appreciating that Sam Holt didn’t bat an eyelid or look at them at all, leaving him to shift his weight uncomfortably and move his arm around Pidge’s shoulders. 

Lance and Matt joined the group soon after, and the parents herded them all towards the door and the cars. Matt agreed to drive himself and Lance, leaving Keith and Pidge in the car with her parents to meet them there. 

‘Do you like bowling, Keith?’ 

He startled at the question, looking towards the woman in the front. ‘Uh, yeah, it’s pretty fun.’ 

‘We go bowling back at college,’ Pidge supplied. ‘Keith’s pretty good at it.’ 

‘I’m not sure that counts,’ Keith felt a smile crack across his face as he thought about the mini bowling alley that they had set up with a couple of other friends in the courtyard of the science buildings. 

‘It totally counts.’ 

Mrs Holt chuckled. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear it. It’ll be nice to do something we can all enjoy before the wedding tomorrow. I know Pidge isn’t looking forward to that.’ 

The girl groaned. ‘I’m not, no.’ 

‘At least you’ll have Keith to keep you company,’ Colleen insisted. ‘It’s part of the reason I was so persistent about you bringing someone. I thought it might help you out.’ 

Pidge didn’t respond, but Keith could see the pout working its way onto her face. 

He jumped at the chance of taking the attention off her. ‘How-uh-what time is the wedding?’ 

This seemed to do the trick as Mrs Holt began going through the plans for the following day. Keith listened as attentively as he could to what she was saying, trying to figure out in his mind what time he would need to get up to start getting ready. 

He thought of the waistcoat Lance had found for him in Matt’s wardrobe, dark reds and black. It suited him, even if it was Matt’s. 

When they arrived Lance was quick to challenge him, the competitive streak that came with having many siblings showing clear as day. Keith went along with it, prodding and smirking in all the right places, happy to see that it seemed to make the man grin wider. Apparently responding to the big headed behaviour was all he needed to do. 

They lined up in their lane to put their names in the machine, waiting for it to register. Matt offered to nip to the bar and get each of them a drink, something that went down well with his father. 

‘I’ll lend you a hand,’ Keith offered without thinking. ‘Help you carry the drinks.’ 

Brown eyes searched his face for a moment, before a grin split across his face. ‘Great! Thanks, man.’ 

He missed the look exchanged between Pidge and Lance from across the alley, focused entirely on the man in front of him who ushered him towards the restaurant bar, already talking about his favourite thing to eat at this particular alley and how the fries were to die for. 

There was something oddly charming about the way his voice tilted and dropped; how it was so very  _expressive_ and easy to understand. 

‘We used to come to this bowling alley a lot when we were kids,’ Matt explained as they waited at the bar. ‘I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty good at bowling.’ 

‘Oh yeah?’ 

‘Yeah, I know my way around a few balls.’ 

Keith snorted out his laughter, a mixture of amused and surprised. ‘I’m sure you do.’ 

Matt fired w ink. ‘You’ll just have to let me know if you need any help.’ 

‘Help, huh? I’ll keep that in mind.’ 

Matt passed over the payment for the drinks as they were placed in front of them. ‘I know how important it is for you to beat Lance. I’m happy to do anything I can to help you.’ 

There was a stab of guilt as the tanned man’s face flashed in his mind. ‘Right, your boyfriend.’ 

Matt paused, before an uncomfortable laugh filled the air. ‘Yes, Lance, my boyfriend. Uh-he sure is great!’ 

‘Yeah, sure.’ 

The brunette quickly snatched up three of the drinks, a strained smile on his face. ‘Shall we-uh-get back to it?’ 

‘Yes.’ 

It was like a Ping-Pong match in his stomach that he knew he was going to lose. 

Since Pidge had pointed it out, it felt so much more real. The way Matt would crack a joke that felt like it was just for him, or that smile that would be sent his way that he couldn’t  _not_ return. 

Just one more day. He had one more day of this before he’d be free of it, left to go back to college and free to pretend it never happened. Till then he had to attempt to balance the comradery he’d managed to get going with Lance with these funny feelings that were begging to burst forth every time he looked at Matt.

When they returned, Pidge was quick to pull him away towards the alley. ‘We put you guys last, seeing as you were getting drinks, so it’s your turn! You  _have_ to do well, I’ve been gloating about you to Lance and I expect you to prove me right.’ 

‘Why were you gloating about me to Lance?’ 

She shrugged with a mischievous grin. ‘It’s fun to rile him up. Now get going! First bowl, I expect nothing short of a half-strike.’ 

‘No pressure or anything.’ 

She gave him a solid pat on the back. ‘I believe in you!’ 

He selected the right ball, picking a couple up before he settled on a weight he was happy with, before moving to the front of the alley. He thought back to bowling with Shiro, sucking in a deep breath and trying to get his mind in the right place. 

He lunged as he rolled the ball, aiming just left of the front pin. 

Pidge gave the biggest cheer he’d heard from her yet as he got them down in one, the animation for a strike showing on their board. She stood and pointed at Lance with a triumphant  _‘HA’_ , only giving in when her mother pulled her back into her seat and told her not to get too competitive. 

Keith smirked as he passed Matt, raising a brow at the brunette. ‘Still happy to give me help if I need it?’ 

The brunette openly  _gaped_ at him, a light flush rising in his cheeks. ‘Uh…I mean, it kinda looks like you don’t need it.’ 

‘Suit yourself.’ 

* * *

Matt wondered if it would be too rash to stab pens into his own ears to deafen himself. Quite probably. It’s not like anyone was taught how to be a parent, or what their children would or would not approve of. It’s not like he didn’t know his mother’s heart was in the right place. 

‘I’m just so happy I get to have you both here for the wedding,’ she cooed as she wrapped Lance and Keith in a hug at the doors to the alley. ‘You’re such talented boys! And Keith, you were so modest about your bowling skills in the car!’ 

He gave a shrug and bashful smile. ‘It-it was nothing. I just really like bowling.’ 

She raised a hand and stroked her palm down Lance’s cheek. ‘Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I know Pidge and Matt are grateful too, aren’t you both?’ 

She turned with such a bright smile, such wide eyes, there was only one answer the pair could sound out: ‘Yeah, super grateful.’ 

‘Let’s go for something to eat, we can let the winner choose!’ 

It was more of the same from there. 

Matt knew he was being unfair. If it wasn’t for the fact he was so aware that Lance wasn’t  _really_ his boyfriend, he probably wouldn’t have cared so much. But he was, so every little nudge and question she poked was just another stab of guilt to his heart, weighing him down and wishing beyond wishes that it would stop. 

Then he remembered how she’d pestered, insisted that he was getting closer and closer to thirty, eventually he’d need to find a nice partner to bring home, and what a wonderful time to make a bond with someone than at a wedding? 

Remembering how pissed off she’d made him in the first place alleviated some of the guilt. 

If there was one thing his mother was good at, it was reading him. 

‘Darling,’ she took hold of his shoulder after their meal, slowing him down and dragging them behind the rest of their group. ‘What’s the matter?’ 

‘Nothing, I’m good.’ 

‘No, you’re not. I noticed it yesterday. Your father mentioned it too, he found it quite amusing how you seem to talk to Keith a fair bit. I want you to know you can talk to me, even if I have to force it out of you.’ 

He rolled his eyes. ‘Wow, thanks, mom.’ 

‘Anytime. Now tell me, what’s wrong?’ 

He attempted to shrug it off, like it was no big deal. ‘I just-I was kind of worried, at first. Lance has reason for not liking Keith, and I…’ 

She chuckled, squeezing his arm as she linked it with her own. ‘You’ve always been a little protective of Katie, haven’t you?’ 

‘I guess, but he’s not that bad.’ 

‘He isn’t, even if he’s not…’ she grimaced. ‘Exactly what I pictured for her, I can see he tries his best to make her happy. That’s more than I could ask for.’ 

‘He does, huh?’ 

‘At first I thought it was strange! All the stories she told of her friends and of Keith…I wasn’t expecting them to date.’ 

He thought back to the imagine he’d built in his mind of Katie’s friend Keith. ‘Yeah, me neither.’ 

‘But maybe we all judged a little too soon, Lance included.’ 

He hummed softly as they approached the cars. 

‘Besides, if he’s got the big brother seal of approval, then he must be worth keeping around. Stop worrying so much and be happy she’s found someone you like, and not an asshole with too many nasty words.’ 

‘Mom!’ 

She winked and let go of his arm, hurrying over to her own car. ‘See you back at the house!’ 

He gave a wave before settling into his own ride, blowing a puff of air as he sat next to Lance. 

‘You alright, man?’ 

He glanced over to see the ocean blues staring back at him. ‘Yeah, just had a chat with mom. It’s…I’m sorry about the Keith thing.’ 

Lance cocked an eyebrow. ‘What?’ 

‘The Keith thing you talked to me about yesterday. I shouldn’t feel bad about it, I should be happy that she’s got someone so great, right?’ 

There was a moment’s hesitation. Lance bit down on his lip, brows coming together as he looked just past Matt. 

‘Right?’ 

‘Right,’ Lance agreed. ‘Yeah.’ 

‘I can stop myself from flirting with the guy for one day!’ Matt blew a raspberry. ‘I am a master of self-control.’ 

‘In your dreams maybe.’ 

‘I am!’ 

They began to pull out the parking lot before Lance spoke up again, an edge to his voice. ‘Matt, there’s something I want to tell you.’ 

The brunette glanced over, frown settling on his face. ‘What’s up?’ 

‘It’s…’ he curled in on himself in the passengers seat. ‘It’s Keith and Pidge.’ 

‘What about them?’ 

A puff of air. A strangled noise of indecision. 

‘Come on, dude, don’t leave me hanging.’ 

‘I just…’ Lance let out a long sigh and a warm smile. ‘I’m really proud of you. I know how protective you get.’ 

‘Oh!’ he chuckled at the observation. ‘Yeah, I do. I guess it kinda helps that, you know, he’s attractive or whatever.’ 

‘You’re so weak for a pretty face.’ 

‘That’s rich, coming from you.’ 

One more day. Just one more day, and he’d be free of this whole mess. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TOOK SO LONG I'M SO SORRY 
> 
> I try to update fics like two weeks apart at the l a t e s t but this time I took forever! I hope the chapter made up for the wait! 
> 
> Just one more to go....


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